Creating A Dementia Friendly Kyneton

The Treehouse program at Kyneton Health provides a client driven, socially supportive group for people living with dementia (early-advanced) 3 days per week. It has developed strong community links promoting and providing education around dementia through staff, client and community interactions. Our proposal is to expand on this education and support by providing targeted assistance to businesses within Kyneton township to assist them in becoming more dementia friendly. This would include education about dementia by Dementia Australia alongside a personal review of businesses involved to assist with ideas on how they could become more dementia friendly through implementing simple changes.

Research conducted by Dementia Australia indicates the Macedon Ranges region had 956 people living with dementia in 2016. This is expected to rise by 657.1 % by 2050. Dementia is the 2nd leading cause of death in Australia and is a global crisis.
This program benefits Kyneton by providing specific, tailored education to business owners/employees about what dementia is, building knowledge and confidence within the community and creating links with local and national services such as Kyneton District Health and Dementia Australia. Local residents living with or caring for someone with dementia will feel more supported within their local community.