The Alzheimer's Society will be running two Dementia Friends sessions in June to support Rutland's Great Dementia Conversation.

Instigated by Rutland and Melton's MP, Alicia Kearns, 'Rutland's Great Dementia Conversation' is aiming to drive up dementia awareness, increase diagnoses in Rutland and make our communities more dementia friendly.

To do this, the MP is working with local people, TV personalities and local charities, such as Dementia Friends.

Dementia Friends is an Alzheimer's Society led initiative which aims to improve dementia awareness and understanding and change the way the nation thinks, talks, and acts about dementia.

A Dementia Friend is someone who has attended a one-hour Information Session and committed to an action that will make the lives of people living with dementia better. Anyone of any age can become a Dementia Friend.

The one-hour session will cover a range of activities which will help people to learn more about dementia and how they can help to create dementia friendly communities.

Sessions will take place on:

• Thursday 13 June from 1 - 2pm at Tinwell Village Hall, PE9 3FS
• Thursday 20 June from 5.30 - 6.30pm at the Victoria Hall, Oakham, LE15 6AH

The Victoria Hall event is aimed at local businesses and their staff, and how they can support the ongoing Dementia Conversation.

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The sessions are free to attend and open to all, but spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. To attend an Information Session, registration can be completed on Alicia Kearns MP's Rutland Dementia Website.

Further information on Dementia Friends can be found here.

For those who are unable to attend the sessions on the above dates, online Dementia Friends information sessions can be booked here.

Alicia Kearns, Member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton, said: "Anyone in Rutland can become a Dementia Friend, so please do encourage your friends and family to register and help change our perceptions and understanding of dementia.

"From spreading the word about local dementia events on social media, to helping someone find the right bus, no matter how small an action is it can help shape the lives of those living with dementia in our communities."