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September 2023 Connect
Kia ora and welcome to our September pānui
September is World Alzheimer’s Month; the aim of the month is to raise awareness and challenge stigma surrounding Alzheimer’s disease and all types of dementia. To coincide with this, September is our annual appeal month.
Our contract with Te Whatu Ora covers approximately 60 percent of the cost to deliver the complete range of our services. We need to fundraise to meet the remaining 40 percent of costs and we do this through grants and donations from our supporters – you!
It is super easy to donate:
A Direct payment into our bank account: Dementia Wellington Charitable Trust ASB 12‐3142‐0258625‐50 or click here to donate. We appreciate your support and especially acknowledge those supporters who have signed up as regular donors – thank you!
If making a financial contribution is difficult how about volunteering your time (see details later in the pānui) or organising a small fundraiser at your work or club? A big thank you to the Waimea Women’s Institute who have just raised and donated $1,500!
Dementia Wellington has a number of activities planned to mark World Alzheimer’s Month. In this pānui you can read about the quiz nights at the Sprig and Fern in Petone, and the Carer’s Big Day Out. Check out What’s coming up for details of groups during October to December in your area. Plus there will be a Navigating Dementia seminar at Te Awe Library, on Tuesday, September 12th, 2:30pm – 4:00pm – this is open to anyone to attend so feel free to spread the word and invite your friends, neighbours and workmates.
And finally, focusing on carers, I urge you to read about the recent changes to the Carer Support Subsidy, these changes have been made to make the subsidy more accessible for carers. Please contact your dementia advisor if you need more help about the subsidy and what it means for you.
Ngā mihi mahana
Anne Schumacher, Chief Executive
Carers’ Big Day Out – Thursday, September 21st, Paraparaumu Golf Club. 10am-4pm.
This is an opportunity to focus on wellbeing and have a time to come together for relaxation, lovely food, meeting new people and just having an enjoyable day out! There will be plenty of time to chat and admire the view along with the opportunity to experience some relaxing and restorative activities. The team from WellElder will be joining us and Dr Rosie Gibson, sleep researcher from Massey University is also coming to share her insights with us.
The day will be starting at 10:00am with morning tea and we will be finished by 4:00pm. There are places for 50 carers and for 15 people living with dementia and there is no charge for the day. The Carers’ Big Day Out programme can be found here.
To register your attendance, please email rohan@dementiawellington.org.nz, or leave a message on 04 972 2595.
Please include:
• your name
• the name of your person with dementia if they are coming
• your location i.e. Wellington, Lower/Upper Hutt, Kāpiti, Porirua
• any special dietary requirements
• a contact phone number
When: Thursday, 21 September
Where: Paraparaumu Golf Club, 376 Kapiti Road, Paraparaumu Beach, 5032
Cost: no charge
Thank you to the Paraparaumu Golf Club for their generous support.
Kāpiti Community Awards
We were thrilled to be selected as a finalist in the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards. The awards recognise the work carried out by community groups in the wider Wellington region.
The focus of the awards is to celebrate volunteers for their valuable contribution to society. Our Kāpiti Cog café was nominated, and whilst we didn’t win an official award, we think we are winners anyway!
Quiz nights – Tuesdays in September, start 7pm. Sprig and Fern Tavern, 146 Jackson Street, Petone
Dementia Wellington is the charity of the month in September at the Sprig and Fern Quiz Night.
Please bring along a team and if you would like to help on the night, please email admin@dementiawellington.org.nz
Last year the quiz nights raised over $1,000 so we are grateful to the Sprig and Fern for hosting us again. We are also thankful to all the local businesses who have donated prizes including Pak n Save, Lighthouse Cinemas, House of Knives, Ellen, Aro Bakery, Stansborough Fibres (yes, we have a ‘Lord of the Rings’ scarf as a prize) and Salute Hair and Day spa.
MinDArT is restarting! September 2023
Dementia Wellington is privileged to be supporting the MinDArt research project that is a collaboration between Massey University and the Institut Claude Pompidou in France.
In September 2023 we will be starting the long awaited MinDArT and Memory Café: a crossover trial that will see us looking for 72 participants (36 pairs: 36 people living with dementia and 36 supporters).
Why should you participate in this study?
Because we believe it is fun and beneficial for people living with dementia and their supporters and we would like to be able to collect more data to show this.
You don’t need to know how to draw!
It’s about using the process of drawing in all its mediums to improve well-being, communication, and fine motor skills, while also meeting some amazing people and creating a lasting network. We would love your help.
– Emma Febvre-Richards, Founder, MeDArT (drawing to advance dementia research)
If you are interested in participating in MinDArT please register your interest or queries with Emma Febvre-Richards E.R.Febvre-Richards@massey.ac.nz
For more detailed information about MinDArt: https://www.medartdrawing.com/
Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand Carer Support Subsidy
Te Whatu Ora is making changes to the Carer Support Subsidy to make it more helpful for people.
Carer Support is available for ‘full-time Carers’ and is intended to allow them to have breaks from their caring responsibilities.
A full-time Carer is the person who provides more than 4 hours per day unpaid care to a person in need for care.
The Carer Support Subsidy is accessed by having a needs assessment from a Te Whatu Ora Needs Assessment Service Coordination (NASC) service and your GP, Mental Health Clinician or Specialist may also be able to support you to access a Carer Support Subsidy.
From 1 July, improvements to Carer Support will include:
A national increase in the daily rate to at least $80.
Full-time carers can continue to use Carer Support as they do now but will also have the flexibility to buy items that provide them with respite – examples of this can be found online at Carer Support Subsidy – Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand
New purchasing guidelines have been published on the webpage to support carers with making claims.
Carer Support can be used to pay others in the household so the full-time carer can have a break.
The Subsidy funding can be used all at once, or through the year – it’s up to the carer and the family member they support to choose and organise respite that works best for them.
Te Whatu Ora has made these changes to support the wellbeing of family, whānau and aiga carers.
It recognises the importance of carers and their work and believes these changes will give carers greater options to assess wellbeing risks, and to reduce their well-known risks of stress and burnout.
For more information, you can email info@health.govt.nz, or visit Carer Support Subsidy – Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand
Volunteer Opportunities
Tina, our Wellington Dementia Advisor, needs support to assist her with the Cog cafés (monthly) in Johnsonville and Wellington, and with the Living Well group. No experience needed, just a willingness to connect and support people who are living with dementia and their whānau.
If any of the following activities appeal, please email: admin@dementiawellington.org.nz
Support for Cog café’s (monthly) at any of these venues: welcoming people, chatting, and drinking coffee!
Johnsonville – Library Café
Upper Hutt – Cossie Club
Lower Hutt – Mitre 10 Petone
Wellington – Picnic Café in the Botanical Gardens
Kāpiti – Anzil café
Volunteering to manage volunteers 😊.
Sprig and Fern quiz nights over September – see above.
What’s coming up
Click through to our “What’s coming up” in the October November December plan to see the dates of our upcoming activities. You can copy the relevant dates into your calendars or diaries and see what’s coming up in other areas too. We will always try to let you know if anything changes but please contact your dementia advisor by email or phone if you’re unsure.
Please note, donations of $5 or more are tax-deductible.
Make a payment directly into our bank account
Dementia Wellington Charitable Trust
Bank: ASB 12-3142-0258625-50
GST number: 127-923-906.
Charity Number: CC56108
