The RAF Association has been awarded a grant to deliver training courses to serving personnel on understanding dementia and supporting a loved one with the condition.
The Association already delivers the free Navigating Dementia course to serving personnel, veterans and anyone else who is part of the RAF community who is caring for someone with dementia or living with dementia themselves. Since its launch in 2021, 750 people have benefitted from the course.
The funding will enable the Association to deliver an additional 15 courses across the country over the next two years, tailored to the unique needs of serving personnel.
The Navigating Dementia course is AIM accredited and designed to offer support to those facing dementia, helping them identify where additional or specialist support can be accessed, and give up-to-date information about the latest news, advice and insights around dementia and dementia care.
The grant was awarded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust as part of its Apart, not alone programme that awards funding to projects that help alleviate the impact of service-related separation for families of serving personnel and reservists, whether it be deployment, weekending or military exercises.
Rory O’Connor, Charity Director at the RAF Association, said:
“Serving personnel face a unique set of challenges which can make caring for someone with dementia especially difficult. Our Navigating Dementia course gives people the tools they need to support a loved one with dementia while continuing to serve. We’re grateful to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust for giving us the means to help even more serving personnel access this course.”
Anna Wright, CEO of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, said:
“Caring responsibilities as a serving person bring unique and difficult challenges, and supporting a relative with dementia when you’re far away can be particularly complex. We’re delighted that this funding can enable the Association to respond to this pressure as the UK ages, and to share learning which may help other serving families in years to come.”
Find out more about the Association’s Navigating Dementia service: Navigating Dementia
