Everyday, people living with dementia and their caregivers suffer from discrimination and stigmas in public spaces. This can impact their quality of life, confidence, and their mental health. Society’s lack of understanding of dementia leads to feelings of isolation and loneliness among those living with dementia. This way of thinking creates a society where dementia is not seen as being “normal” and the individuals are therefore not accepted and treated with the same respect. This creates a negative perception of dementia and I wanted to create a way for this issue to be highlighted and spoken about.

From the research I carried out, I quickly learned that to alleviate the stigmas placed on dementia, We needed to try and encourage all of society to take more responsibility and learn more about dementia, not just placing the onus on caregivers to fix the problems that they are facing themselves, Its a societal shift.

This is where I created ABLE,

ABLE aims to provide up to date information, support, and learning opportunities to individuals, caregivers, and wider buisnesses in Scotland that are affected by dementia to raise awareness and feelings of pride and empathy. ABLE operates in all public spaces, but I have chosen supermarkets as my main focus area. ABLE takes ordinary supermarkets and turns them into recognised Dementia Aware Supermarkets where it will be noticed by caregivers who are looking for a more understanding place to shop. ABLE encourages supermarket staff and shoppers to take into consideration what it would feel like to shop as someone living with dementia, prompting understanding and conversations through a range of resources and tools. This system allows for the challenges of dementia to be recognised and emapthised with our society.