Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley is the 200th organisation in Leeds to have committed to being age and dementia friendly!
Our Friendly Communities team manages the Age and Dementia Friendly Business scheme. We encourage and support local businesses to help make Leeds a place which is accessible and welcoming for all ages and for people who are living with dementia. The scheme is open to all businesses, organisations and groups in the city.
The 200 who have signed up to take action include pubs, museums, sports grounds, plumbers, GP surgeries, churches, shopping centres, taxis firms, banks and voluntary organisation.
Sunny Bank, founded as a mill building in 1829, has been restored as a space for businesses, and an arts programme, spanning exhibitions, workshops, studio spaces and events.
Sunny Bank Mills sits at the heart of our local community in Farsley, and it is really important that people know they are welcome in our public spaces. We hope that by committing to be an Age and Dementia Friendly organisation we are raising awareness and creating a nicer place for everyone to experience art, heritage and culture on their doorstep.
Anna Turzynski, Arts Director, Sunny Bank Mills
The organisation has signed up with a list of actions to strive towards over the next year, all of which will make a real difference to older people and people living with dementia who visit the space. They plan to:
- Create more seating around the site for people to rest and join the Come In and Rest scheme
- Keep the levels of noise in our spaces low
- Print things in large format
- Ensure we still print off marketing/information rather than just relying on digital media
- Advertise as a warm space
- Provide a Dementia Friends session (link) for people in our Mill community – to be delivered by LOPF in August
- Signpost to Dementia support groups
- Change physical aspects of the site to be more dementia friendly eg. black door mats
- Improve lighting levels
Every organisation who signs up receives Age and Dementia Friendly window stickers, free publicity, access to free training sessions for staff such as Dementia Friends and ageism awareness and invitations to city-wide events. We have a guide and checklist for organisations thinking about what actions they could take.
Join over 200 Leeds’ businesses – sign up today as an Age and Dementia Friendly Business.
For more information visit Leeds Older People’s Forum’s website or contact Sarah: Sarah@opforum.org.uk / 07871371803
Sarah Prescott
Friendly Communities Officer