We are very happy to officially announce that Chelmsford Cathedral is an Inclusive Dementia Community
This very special award is something our Associate Priest, Olivia Maxfield-Coote, who looks after pastoral care and outreach at Chelmsford Cathedral, has been working towards for some time. She received the certificate from Alzheimer's Society at the annual Singing for the Brain Concert as part of Dementia Action Week.
“It's such great news the Cathedral is now recognised as an Inclusive Dementia Community,” says Olivia. “We have been working with Alzheimer’s Society for some time to raise our awareness of dementia and progress towards being more hospitable to those with a diagnosis. This certification refers to our commitment to pray weekly for those affected by dementia. We will provide up-to-date training about dementia and regularly assess how inclusive our services are and whether the layout of the Cathedral is helpful, as well as making any necessary amendments.”
Part of the process involved a visit from a person with dementia, who walked around the Cathedral and offered their feedback on how the space could be adjusted to become more dementia-friendly. “We were very grateful for their valuable insight,” says Olivia. “This inclusivity is something we want to continue to grow, we have more ideas for services and prayer stations which we are hoping to deliver in the future.”