West Yorkshire leads the way on better housing for people with dementia
To mark the start of Dementia Action Week (19–25 May), West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin has praised the efforts of the region’s 15 leading social housing providers for delivering more ‘dementia-ready’ homes.
The changes mean more people living with dementia will be able to stay in their homes safely and independently for longer. Simple design features like easily recognisable front doors, step-free access, and plenty of natural light can make a big difference to daily life.
These features are part of a ten-point checklist created by the Mayor’s Dementia-Ready Housing Taskforce last year, which has now been adopted by every member of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership.
Mayor Brabin is encouraging all other housebuilders in the region to follow their lead, so that more residents can feel confident their homes will continue to meet their needs as they grow older.
Jeremy Porteus, CEO of Housing LIN, said:
"The 10 criteria developed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Dementia-ready Housing Taskforce are a set of practical measures that can make our homes and housing services dementia-friendly. It's really encouraging that the 15 West Yorkshire Housing partners have committed to implementing the dementia-ready criteria. They build on the recommendations in the APPG Housing and Care for Older People Inquiry report we wrote and, in my view, are the blueprint for other regions too."
This guide aims to support those working in the housing sector to deliver dementia-ready homes and communities through planning, design, development, refurbishment and maintenance processes.
If this topic interests you, read Mayor Brabin's Housing LIN blog, Creating Dementia-Ready Homes in West Yorkshire.
You can also access the full toolkit and West Yorkshire Taskforce design criteria here.
For more on the 2020/21 APPG inquiry and the report Housing for People with Dementia: Are we ready?, click here.