Dementia Friendly Keighley has been chosen to take part in a national research and innovation programme that aims to help those feeling isolated, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The programme, in collaboration with Catalyst and the National Lottery Community Fund, aims to provide support to organisations to help research and develop digital, data and design capabilities which will allow them to address urgent issues and serve the most vulnerable members of the community.
Dementia Friendly Keighley is specifically looking at reaching those who are isolated and struggle to access the services that are on offer. The idea is to create an app or device that will help those people to find the information they require or to take part in activities online, as easily as possible. DFK is committed to sharing the learning from this project so it will impact on other voluntary organisations in the Bradford District, including Keighley People First, Keighley Healthy Living, Roshni Ghar and the Highfield Centre.
Julie Lintern, DFK Manager said “It’s very exciting to be selected to work alongside other charities nationally, sharing problems and looking for solutions” “COVID 19 has been really tough for people living with dementia and their carers, we’ve tried to continue our services with a level of normality but access to these services and activities aren’t accessible for all”
The programme is currently in its research stage with organisations in all areas of the UK coming together to identify issues that affect their service users or communities.
Once all of the issues have been identified, the organisations will then work with digital agencies to create a solution for helping those in need.