£5m to expand Derry’s DEEDS to help transform dementia support across UK
Derry based community‑led organisation Health for Life has received almost £5 million of life-changing funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to expand an innovative dementia support programme across Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
The five-year funding will support SEEDS (Sharing, Engaging & Empowering Dementia Support) – a transformative initiative helping people living with dementia, their carers, and communities to lead fuller, more connected lives, and largely based on Derry’s successful DEEDS initiative.
The investment comes from The National Lottery Community Fund’s UK Fund at a time when dementia is becoming one of the biggest health challenges.
SEEDS builds on the success of the award-winning DEEDS (Dementia Engaged and Empowered in Derry & Strabane) project, which delivered community-based support to improve wellbeing, reduce isolation and help people live well with dementia for longer.
The approach supports people to stay active, socially connected, and independent in their communities whilst also providing structured support for carers.
Over the next five years, SEEDS aims to provide direct social and wellbeing support to more than 4,000 families affected by dementia and support 150 community organisations across the the north and in Britain to adopt and adapt the proven DEEDS model.
SEEDS will also create stronger links between community organisations and health services, and work to influence policy, commissioning and funding frameworks to embed community-based dementia care in the longer term.
Health for Life Project Director, George McGowan said: “Medical care is essential, but it’s not enough. People living with dementia also need social connection, daily support, and community engagement to live well. SEEDS builds on a model we already know works and will now scale that approach to reach many more people.”
The programme will now expand across all five health trusts in Northern Ireland while also supporting around 150 community organisations across England and Wales to deliver similar approaches.
SEEDS will bring together community organisations, Healthy Living Centres and partners across Northern Ireland, England and Wales to build stronger local support networks around people with dementia. This includes better coordination between services, shared training, and more opportunities for communities to shape how support is designed and delivered.
Tony Doherty, Regional Coordinator of the Healthy Living Centre Alliance said: “SEEDS is about partnership at every level. By bringing together community organisations, health services and people with lived experience, SEEDS will create stronger local support networks and help drive long-term systems and policy change in how dementia care is delivered in the future.”
Kate Beggs, NI Director at The National Lottery Community Fund said: “SEEDS is a powerful example of communities coming together to tackle complex challenges and create lasting change. Congratulations to Health for Life and all the partners involved.”
This content is sourced from www.derryjournal.com and is shared for informational purposes only.
