Tracey visited the Alzheimer’s Society Medway Dementia Community Roadshow yesterday to show her support for the valuable free initiative.

The Dementia Community Roadshow is open to anyone interested in finding out more about dementia, the easy-to-access support and information will be travelling to Tesco stores around the country, in three purpose built vehicles over the next three years. The Roadshow spends two days at every store it visits aiming to reach pockets of the country where access to advice and support is limited and to raise awareness of local service provision.

The Alzheimer’s Society were Tesco Charity of the Year 2011, the partnership has raised over 7.5million to help people live better with dementia, providing funding for the Dementia Community Roadshow, local dementia support professionals and new research.

 Tracey said: “I am delighted to be supporting the Alzheimer’s Society with their free Community Roadshow in Medway. With an increasing number of people being diagnosed with Dementia in the UK, we need to reach out to communities and tackle stigma by raising awareness of the condition. I believe the Roadshow is an excellent initiative to help people gain a better understanding of Dementia and what appropriate steps need to be taken at the earliest possible stage”.

It is estimated that there are 22,000 people in Kent living with dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society seeks to continually raise the level of diagnosis and support, so that nobody – including the thousands of carers and loved ones of people with dementia – has to make their dementia journey alone. The Alzheimer’s Society has recently been commissioned with joint funding from Medway Council and NHS Kent and Medway to set up Peer Support Groups and Dementia Cafes. They are currently running two Dementia Cafes, including one in Chatham; a Peer Support Group will soon be opening in Rochester.

Tracey urges anyone who is worried about their memory, or is affected by dementia to visit www.alzheimers.org.uk for further information and advice. Early diagnosis is one of the biggest barriers and its success is key to living well with dementia.