3Bridges Biggest Morning Tea

“The best party ever”

In May, 3Bridges community held the biggest morning Tea at their Carss Park centre. The aim was not only to raise money for cancer research but also to raise the local community’s awareness of dementia and to provide an opportunity for an intergenerational connections between younger people, people with disability and people living with dementia.  he day was attended by 3bridges clients living with dementia and some of their family carers, the “get together” group for individuals with disabilities, students from Blakehurst primary school, members from the local community and 3Bridges staff. Not only was the day a great way to promote cancer research, raise dementia awareness and bring the community together but it was a real eye opener at how positive the interaction between the students and dementia members was. One of the verbal feedback was “I’ve never seen such energetic and genuine interaction between the two seemingly different generations”. They danced and sang along together and it was the “the best party ever” as reported by several primary school students. It allowed people living with dementia to talk to the students about their condition and certain aspects of life, and in turn it gave them a sense of contribution and value. After hearing the feedback from the teachers and seeing the immediate positive change in the mood of our clients living with dementia, the team has decided to incorporate regular interaction between children and the members of the Dementia Meeting Centre Support program. The event was the beginning of a partnership between Blakehurst Primary School and 3Bridges. Blakehurst High School Principal is also very keen to be part of this partnership. She has since become an active member of the Dementia Alliance.