Age & Dementia Friendly Holywell group established in 2018 with the aim of making Holywell and surrounding areas safe, inclusive communities that offer activities/facilities that enable everyone to age well.  A particular focus of the group is to raise awareness of dementia so that people with dementia and their carers can be supported to live full and active lives.

In 2019, the group was awarded a grant from the Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm Community Fund to develop a community engagement project working with 6 schools and communities in the rural north Flintshire area. The project used drama and performance as a medium for working with primary school children to increase their understanding of dementia and how the wider community can take simple steps to enable more vulnerable people to feel safe and supported and continue to play an active part in the community. The project included the following phases:

• Staff and pupils in each school learned about dementia and became Dementia Friends.
• A community arts practitioner worked with a small group of children in each school to develop a performance on dementia and ageing well which was shared with the school community.
• A series of community safety events were held in the area, providing opportunities for older adults to learn about the range of services and support available to enable them to age well.
• End of project Celebration at Greenfield Valley Heritage Park for older adults (including people living with dementia) and pupils from each school, encouraged the generations to learn together and enabled the children to use their newly developed communication skills and understanding of dementia and aging well.

The project achieved the following:

• 214 pupils (aged 6 to 11) participated in Dementia Friends awareness sessions and became Dementia Friends
• 17 school staff became Dementia Friends
• 40 visitors attended community safety events, receiving information and advice and follow-up support from 15 statutory and third sector organisations
• 102 pupils and 24 older adults attended the Celebration event with positive feedback from participants.