DEMENTIA FRIENDLY EAST RIDING MEETS PARKWAY CINEMA!

Simon Foster has been involved with Dementia Friendly East Riding as an ambassador and volunteer for 3 years. The charity is there to raise awareness of dementia, but further to support those people living with dementia as well as their familiesand carers.

In an inspirational partnership, Dementia Friendly East Riding and Parkway Cinema have teamed up and regularly offer dementia friendly cinema screenings at Parkway Beverley. Meeting every second month, on the last Thursday of the month, groups and individuals from around the East Riding gather to enjoy the sensory experience of a film - be it nostalgic, humorous, a musical, or just an uplifting, heartwarming story. Meetings give those living with dementia a fabulous chance to socialise, enjoy themselves get involved in a bit of banter and strengthen social connections.

The staff at Parkway Cinema are fully trained Dementia Friends and have a good understanding of the challenges that those living with dementia as well as their nearest and dearest face. A whole range of local care homes get involved from those located in Beverley to others further afield in Market Weighton, Hornsea and across the East Riding. The showings are also open to individual residents and their carers too.

Screen 6, where the films are shown is wheelchair accessible, but importantly there are many other dementia friendly features too. The film is played at a reduced volume, there are no advertisements, and there is ‘easy lighting’ i.e. it’s not as dark as a standard performance. Recent films have included ‘Calamity Jane’. ‘The Italian Job’, ‘Some Like it Hot’, ‘The Greatest Showman’, which was very popular, and ‘Love Actually’.

The long term aim of both Dementia Friendly East Riding and Parkway Cinema is to expand and encourage more people to get involved. For those living with Dementia, it is just that - living! Dementia is a part of their life, but so are cinema, great films and socialising!

As Simon told us “the charity is keen to recruit additional volunteers to support a variety of activities and new projects.” Dementia Friendly screenings are bimonthly. There are discounted tickets and carers go free. The discount also applies to those living at home as well as those with early-onset Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. The next performance is the final Thursday in March (26th) when ‘Downton Abbey’ will be shown.