Dementia-Friendly Kent: Your Guide to Local Initiatives

Dementia-Friendly Kent: Your Guide to Local Initiatives

Recent years have seen steps taken in Kent to make the county more dementia friendly, which has resulted in a number of fantastic local initiatives to make life easier for those affected by dementia. Many of them provide a great opportunity for people with memory difficulties and their carers to engage socially with people experiencing something similar.

This page will guide you through some of the best dementia-friendly schemes in Kent:

Dementia Cafรฉs in Kent

Dementia Cafes in Kent

Dementia Cafรฉs are a great resource for people with dementia and their carers. They provide a supportive and informative space in which to share experiences of living with dementia and ask questions to health professionals. Additionally, they are a great opportunity to make new friends who may be going through something similar. Below, we have compiled a list of dementia cafes throughout Kent.

Forget-Me-Not Cafรฉs in Kent

Forget-Me-Not Cafes provide support and companionship to people having trouble with their memory in West Kent. As well as hot drinks, they also offer activities at their cafes, including quizzes, reminiscence activities, exercises and crafts. The Tunbridge Wells cafe is an LGBT+ cafe, supporting Kent’s older LGBT+ community of people affected by dementia.

There are five forget-me-not cafes in West Kent, the locations of which you can find below. For more information about all of them, visit the Forget Me Not Cafes website.

Edenbridge
  • Where? The Eden Centre, Four Elms Road, Edenbridge, TN8 6BY
  • When? Last Friday of the month, 10:30am-12:00pm
Hildenborough
  • Where? St John's Church Centre, Foxbush, Hildenborough, TN11 9HT
  • When? Second Wednesday of the month, 11:00am-12:30pm
Otford
  • Where? Otford Village Memorial Hall, ย 28A High Street, Otford, Sevenoaks TN14 5PQ
  • When? Last Thursday of the month, 11:00am-12:30pm
Sevenoaks (Knole)
  • Where? The Hayloft, National Trust Knole, Sevenoaks, TN13 1HUย 
  • When? First Friday of the month, 10:30am-12:00pm
Sevenoaks (Bat & Ball Station)
  • Where? Bat & Ball Train Station, Bat & Ball Road, Sevenoaks, TN14 5AP
  • When? Second Wednesday of the month, 10:30am - 12:00pm
Westerham
  • Where? The Congregational Church, Fullers Hill, Westerham, TN16 1AB
  • When? Third Friday of the month, 11:00am-12:30pm

ADSS Memory Cafรฉs in Kent

Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Services are a Kent-based charity that host Memory Cafรฉs and other opportunities in the Gravesham, Dartford and Swanley area. These cafรฉs provide a relaxed and reassuring environment for people to have discussions, share experiences, receive support and speak to dementia specialists. There are cafรฉs in:

  • West Kingsdown
  • Swanley
  • Meopham
  • Gravesend
  • Dartford
  • Shorne
  • Longfield

For more details on these cafรฉs and information on attending, you can get in contact using the details provided below or visit the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Services website.ย 

Dementia Friendly Church Services in Kent

Dementia Friendly Church Services

Dementia shouldn’t be a reason for people to feel as though they can no longer maintain their faith. Some churches in Kent have taken steps towards organising regular, dementia-friendly services. These services are formatted more similarly to a casual meet-up and the Worship includes familiar hymns and prayers alongside practical activities.

A list of the dementia-friendly church services in Kent can be found below. It is worth noting that although there are only a few certified dementia-friendly church services, many churches in Kent have ‘relaxed’ or ‘informal’ Worship services once a week, which may be more appropriate for people with dementia. It may be worth contacting your local church to ask about these services.

Rochester Cathedral: Dementia Friendly Service

  • Address: Rochester Cathedral, The Chapter Office, Garth House, The Precinct, Rochester, Kent, ME1 1SX
  • When? Third Monday of the month, 2:30pm - 3:30pm
  • Telephone: 01634 843366
  • Visit Website

St. Peter's Church, Rochester: Dementia Friendly Worship

  • Address: St. Peter's Church, Delce Road, Rochester, ME1 2EH
  • When? Fourth Friday of the month, 1:30pm - 3:30pm
  • Telephone: 07989 783447
  • Visit Website

St. Matthew's Church, Gillingham: Dementia Friendly Service

  • Address: St. Matthew's Church, 9 Drewery Drive, Gillingham, ME8 0PD
  • When? Fourth Wednesday of the month, 2:30pm
  • Telephone: 01634 231071
  • Visit Website

Dementia Friendly Exercise in Kent

Many studies have shown that exercise is greatly beneficial to the health of people living with dementia. There is not a wealth of dementia-friendly exercise schemes in operation in Kent, but there are some standout facilities.

Multi-Activity Session for Older People, Tonbridge

The dementia-friendly, multi-activity session at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge includes short tennis, table tennis, static-cycling and golf putting. There will be a maximum of 20 people in attendance for each session, as well as an instructor and volunteers to help guide you.

For more information, you can visit the website or get in touch using the details provided below.

Dementia Friendly Swimming, Tonbridge

There are dementia-friendly swimming sessions every Wednesday between 11.00am and 1.30pm at Tonbridge Swimming Pool. These are designed to improve the physical and mental health, as well as quality of life for people in all stages of dementia.

Dementia Friendly Walking in Maidstone

Dementia Friendly Walking in Kent

Walking is a great form of exercise that can be done at any time that is convenient to you. Maidstone Borough Council offer a dementia friendly walk in Mote Park that is approximately one mile long, with visual interpretation panels and audio posts. You can pick up a free leaflet and map from the Park Cafรฉ.

Dementia-Friendly Sports Sessions, Medway

Medway Council organise dementia-friendly sports sessions that take place on every first and third Monday of the month. There are different activities each week including gym sessions, table tennis and beginners running. Each session is run by a Dementia Friend and participants can enjoy quiet time in the cafรฉ afterwards.ย 

To find out more about these dementia-friendly sessions you can visit the website or get in touch using the details provided below.

  • Telephone: 01634 336 655
  • Address: Medway Park, Mill Road, Gillingham, ME7 1HF
  • Visit Website

Dementia Friendly Entertainment in Kent

Kent boasts a good range of singing and arts clubs for people with dementia. These groups can be a great source of entertainment for people, as well as a good opportunity to socialise. Additionally, many of the activities are designed to be cognitively stimulating in a way that has been shown to benefit those living with dementia.

Dementia Friendly Cinema Screenings: Ashford Picturehouse

Dementia Friendly Cinema in KentAshford Picturehouse runs Dementia-Friendly Screenings with tickets from ยฃ4.30. These screenings are open to all but cater especially to people with dementia. For full information on upcoming showings are available from the website.

  • Address: Picturehouse, Elwick Road, Ashford, TN23 1AE
  • Visit Website

Dementia Friendly Singing, Rochester

Dementia Friendly Singing Classes in Kent

Dementia-friendly singing classes are a great way of socialising for older people, whilst also participating in a structured session to stimulate the brain.

Singing for the Memory is a singing group hosted by the Parish Centre in Medway each month to help improve memory skills and breathing control, as well as having some fun!

You can get in touch using the details provided below or visit the website for more information.

  • Address: The Parish Centre, St. Peter's Church, Delce Road, Rochester, ME1 2EH
  • When? Second Friday of each month, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
  • Telephone: 07989 783447
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Visit Website

Dementia Friendly Arts Groups in Kent

Zest Community Groups

Zest community groups, run by Bright Shadow, allow for people with memory problems and their carers to engage in creative activities led by professional actors, dancers, filmmakers, directors and visual artists.

These creative sessions take place at four different time slots each week. Sessions are 2 hours in length and focus on a theme typically encompassing a a range of creative activities from music, improvisation, movement and storytelling. These sessions emphasis the wellbeing of participants through encouraging active participation and collaboration within the group.

You can find out more information by visiting the website or getting in touch using the details provided below.

The Art of Age, Dover
The Art of Age, Dover, Dementia Friendly Arts in Kent

The Art of Age Group, run by the Dover Smart Project, is a free dementia-friendly group run by local artists. The group meets every Tuesday from 10:00am to midday inย the My Gallery, near the seafront. Activities vary weekly from painting, to singing, to poetry.

You can find more details about the group on the Dover Smart Project website, or by getting in touch.