Uniting care homes and communities

There are 433,000 people living in care homes in the UK and it is estimated that 70% of care home residents live with dementia. This is an enormous number of people with dementia that we need to ensure are part of their local community.

Funded by NHS England, Airedale Social Movement has been trialling different ways of uniting people from the local community and care homes in eight neighbourhoods across Yorkshire (in Leeds, Keighley and Skipton). This gives residents time to chat, opportunities to get involved and to share their interests.

Our principles

As part of our project to unite care homes with their local communities, we're guided by five core principles.  

Our principles include:

• We believe that nobody affected by dementia should be excluded from their local community,  that includes people living in care homes.
• People living with dementia in care homes should be supported to remain engaged with the community.
• Care homes should be seen as an asset in community life, with gardens, space and residents with skills and heritage and that can be shared locally.
• Dementia Friends sessions with care home residents, family, staff and community members can help reduce the stigma of dementia and promote community connections.
• There should be an increase in awareness of dementia in care homes.