Time to Shine has published a free guide to help businesses and organisations to become more Age and Dementia Friendly.

This new resource provides information to support and encourage businesses and organisations to take action to become more accessible to older people.

Older people tend to be loyal customers wherever they find accessible and welcoming shops and services. Research has shown that businesses may underestimate the spend of older people. In fact:

‘47p of every £1 spent in the UK is spent by someone over 50, so there’s a great financial incentive to build an age and dementia friendly reputation.’ (1)

The free guide contains five sections so that you can easily find the key information you need:

1. How to become Age and Dementia Friendly gives the key information in a ‘nutshell’

2. Age and Dementia Friendly checklist will help a business get started.

3. Age and Dementia Friendly Leeds explains the background of the project.

4. Real Life Stories contains great examples of what local businesses have already done to become more age and dementia friendly

5. Going the extra mile provides more information to take your age and dementia friendly work to the next level

We hope this new guide will encourage businesses and organisations to contribute to making Leeds a place where older people, and people living with dementia, actively participate in the life of the city.

You can also sign up, to show that your business or organisation is actively seeking to be age and dementia friendly. You can then display stickers in shop windows or entrances and on your website. We will also publicise that you are working to be age and dementia friendly on our website and social media. You can also choose to be included in Leeds Directory (an online directory of local businesses and tradespeople) if you would like to.

You may also want to sign up to Come in and Rest, a scheme through which older people are offered a seat with no obligation to buy or use a service. This can be one of actions a business lists when they sign up to be age and dementia friendly.

The straightforward sign up process requires a commitment to taking age and dementia friendly actions. The Guide offers lots of examples of positive actions you might take. Time to Shine’s Friendly Communities team is available if you would like some help. (See contact details below)

Help us spread the word about this new resource so that we can make Leeds better for all older people.

You can download all five sections of the guide or request a print version by contacting the Friendly Communities team.

Jude Woods – jude@opforum.org.uk
Sarah Prescott – sarah@opforum.org.uk
0113 244 1697

(1) Centre for Economic and Business Research, 2014