moneyA new £900,000 fund has been launched to help those living with dementia in the North East and Cumbria.

The Northern Rock Foundation has joined forces with Comic Relief and Ballinger Charitable Trust to form the North East and Cumbria Dementia Fund (NECDF) and offer funding to projects that help people living with dementia to continue to live in and play an active part in their community.

Programme Manager Louise Telford, from Northern Rock Foundation, said: "We want to support projects that are working with people with dementia who are living in the community either in their own homes or in sheltered accommodation and work that changes the way people with dementia are viewed and treated by society."

New ways of supporting people with dementia
In 2010, 31,840 people were living with late onset dementia in the North East and 7,000 in Cumbria - figures predicted to rise to 50,840 and 13,000 by 2030.

In an aim to minimise the impact of these increases, NECDF will look to assist  organizations to develop new ways of supporting people with dementia and their carers and to identify models of best practice that could be adopted more widely across the United Kingdom.

Further reading: Guide based on first-hand experience aims to make dealing with dementia easier

Comic Relief’s UK Manager, Clare Kiely, added: “Dementia is an important and growing issue that touches many people’s lives across the UK. Comic Relief is pleased to be able to support the development of new and innovative ways to support people diagnosed with dementia and their carers to continue to live happy and fulfilling lives for as long as possible.”

The North East and Cumbria Dementia Fund will also look to support projects that help people with dementia who live alone, are from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities as well as those who have learning disabilities or are experiencing early onset dementia.

For more information visit www.dementiapartnerships.com