Lighthouse is destination for Dementia Awareness.
A campaign to tackle the stigma and lack of understanding around dementia has got the support of a Wolverhampton volunteer and the city’s independent cinema, Light House Media Centre.
Local volunteer Sue Guest is running free ‘Dementia Friends’ Information Sessions at the Chubb Buildings venue to coincide with their screenings of the film Still Alice and is urging local people to come along. Dementia Friends is about learning more about dementia and the small ways you can help.
Still Alice stars Julianne Moore in the role of Alice Howland, for which she won the award of Best Actress in this year’s Academy Awards, BAFTAs, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes. In the film, Alice is a happily married linguistics professor who starts to forget words. The story follows her subsequent diagnosis and the testing times ahead for her family. It also stars Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth and Alec Baldwin.
Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends programme is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way the nation thinks, talk and acts about the condition, which 685,000 people in England live with. The free information sessions, which last for one hour, will take place in the main gallery of Light House on Friday 20th March (7-8pm), Wednesday 25th March (4.15-5.15pm) and Thursday 26th March (7-8pm).
Having volunteered to be a Dementia Friends Champion, Sue, from Wolverhampton, is now delivering Dementia Friends Sessions to people across the city. She commented “I signed up because it’s something I really believe in and I wanted to help. I attended a training course, receive ongoing support and I’m now proud to be part of a growing network of people creating dementia friendly communities together. From telling friends about the Dementia Friends programme to visiting someone you know living with dementia, every action counts.”
The film Still Alice opens Friday 20th March, with screenings until Thursday 26th March. Hard of Hearing Subtitles will be provided on Sunday and Tuesday, with a £4 matinee on Wednesday 25th (booking advised). You can book online for the film, or call the Box Office on 01902 716 055.
Call for film timings or visit www.light-house.co.uk