To mark National Carers’ Week 2018 the University of Newcastle’s Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health and La Trobe University are calling for participants from Nyngan to take part in an innovative, national project funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, which aims to increase support for carers of people living with memory loss and dementia.
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All community members including carers, volunteers and staff, are invited to participate in the online initiative.
The Virtual Dementia Friendly Rural Communities (Verily Connect) project - which includes video conferencing, a specially designed website and smartphone app, and help provided by local volunteers in using technology - aims to connect and increase support for carers of people living with memory loss and dementia across 12 rural locations in Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales.
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Ken Wyatt said Verily Connect promised vital linkages for regional carers and was made possible by almost $1.7 million in Federal funding. “With over 425,000 Australians living with dementia, the work of carers is critical, especially in regional areas,” Minister Wyatt said.
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“Verily Connect is set to reduce the challenges of distance and isolation, linking carers and helping them continue delivering support to some of our most vulnerable citizens.”
Director of the CRRMH, Professor David Perkins said there is a very real need for carers to be supported and connected, especially when living in often very isolated communities.
“Dementia Australia estimates there are 291,163 Australians involved in providing unpaid, informal care for people living with dementia,” Professor Perkins said.
“Caring is a vital role that can be both joyful and demanding. We know that when carers are well supported, they are more able to manage any stresses arising from their caring role.”
Director of La Trobe’s John Richards’ Centre for Rural Ageing Research and Principal Investigator for Verily Connect Professor Irene Blackberry said the project incorporates technology to create an online network of carers, based on dementia-friendly community principles.
“People who live in rural communities have less access to support services,” Professor Blackberry said. “By creating a virtual dementia friendly rural community, we can eliminate geographical isolation and potentially reduce the need for expensive and disruptive residential care for people living with dementia.”
To get involved contacting verilyconnect@latrobe.edu.au or 6363 8438
