Keymer Hall Joins the Community in Becoming More Dementia Friendly

There was a real buzz at Keymer Hall last week as the team gathered for a Dementia Friends Information Session, led by our Dementia Friends Ambassador Carl, someone who brings genuine passion to helping people understanding what it’s like to live with dementia.

For our Keymer Hall team, this wasn’t just professional development. It was about strengthening their ability to offer kindness and confidence in the moments that matter most, not just within the care home, but out in the wider community too. Because at Boutique Care Homes, we believe care doesn’t stop at our front door.

Seeing Dementia as a Lived Experience

Carl shared his insights with warmth, helping the team see dementia not as a clinical diagnosis, but as a lived experienced, one that becomes more manageable when a community chooses to understand it.

“When we help our dementia friendly community, we’re opening doors to inclusion, dignity, and everyday kindness,” Carl explained. “Small shifts in understanding can transform how someone living with dementia feels in their own neighbourhood.”

The session gave the Keymer Hall team practical tools such as how to recognise symptoms, how to respond with patience and respect, and how to support people living with dementia when they’re out and about, whether that’s at the shops, on the bus, or in the local café.

Why Dementia Friends Matter

Dementia Friends is an initiative from the Alzheimer’s Society, the UK’s leading dementia charity. Dementia Friends aims to transform the way we think, act, and talk about dementia across the wider community and make a difference for people living with dementia in their communities.

A Dementia Friend is somebody that learns about dementia, how it can affect someone and the small ways they can make a difference in their communities by helping people with dementia live their lives to the fullest.

According to the NHS, more than 944,000 people are living with dementia in the UK. Many feel isolated simply because the condition is misunderstood. However, a Dementia Friend is someone who chooses to learn, reflect, and use that awareness to help people stay connected, valued, and included in everyday life.

That’s exactly what the Keymer Hall team are now equipped to do, and we couldn’t be prouder!