A SUPPORT service set up to help people deal with the impact of dementia on their lives is marking its second anniversary.

Dementia Forward and North Yorkshire County Council, who are celebrating two years of working together, say they can already see the difference the service is making.

The council, with the NHS clinical commissioning groups in North Yorkshire, commissioned the dementia support service in 2014 and Dementia Forward offers weekly services in Harrogate, Ripon, Pickering, Helmsley and Selby, offering support, advice and information, and access activities.

They also provide one-to-one visits and work with families to ensure they have information to make decisions about their health and wellbeing.

“We can already see the difference the Dementia Forward’s support service is making,” said Cllr Clare Wood, executive member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration.

“It is a wraparound service that provides a constant source of support for people through what can be a very complex and difficult time for them.

“The dementia service supports and informs people so that they can start to come to terms with their diagnosis and understand the options available to them, and their families and carers, and help them access what they need, when they need it.”

Dementia Forward is also raising awareness of the condition within schools, teaching young people about dementia to help minimise any stigma attached to the condition. They have also carried out sessions with groups like Women’s Institutes, Rotary clubs, football clubs, swimming pools and retailers.

Jill Quinn, CEO of Dementia Forward, said: “The service provides much-needed emotional and practical support at the difficult junctures of the illness: at first diagnosis; understanding changes in behaviours; learning how to create coping strategies; and then knowing when full-term care is needed.”

The Dementia Forward help line is available 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday, 01904 692473 or 01765 601224. A dementia support service for the rest of the county deis provided by Making Space.