Rotorua to have purple hue for dementia awareness

Affinity, a dementia themed light sculpture which came to Rotorua. Photo/File

Rotorua will have a purple hue to it next month as the city takes part in World Alzheimer's Month.

Alzheimer's Rotorua - which is rebranding its name to Dementia Lakes - community liaison Lynne Luke says, during the week starting September 18, some businesses will have purple balloons being displayed in conjunction with the vision for Rotorua to be dementia friendly.

The Night Market that week will also have purple lighting with the idea to raise awareness of dementia, she says.

"We really want to destigmatise this neuro-degenerative brain disease."

Alzheimer's Rotorua will be changing its logo along with its name on September 26.

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Board chairwoman Carol Fisher says the new name is more relevant to the condition, as alzheimer's is just one type of dementia.

She says the intent is to make it a better fit and it is all about people in Rotorua receiving a better service.

They hope to become more focussed and professional in what they do, she says.

"More people will live well with dementia if they get the right support."

The number of people in the world with dementia will double every 20 years from now.

Lynne says their main focus is to provide education, information, and support to clients and families, and they work closely with other agencies.

They have a Living Well with Memory Loss course for carers and a community cafe once a week on Thursdays at the Baptist Church from 10am to 12pm to encourage people to socialise. It costs $2.

Lynne says the community cafe meets a need for people not ready to go into day care or living alone, and who need to socialise.

They also have a Cognitive Stimulation Therapy Course for people in the early stages of dementia and are available to speak to community groups to raise awareness of the condition.

For more information call (07) 349 0053 or email alzheimersro@xtra.co.nz.