Reminiscity has been launched to create a dementia safe environment for participants to enjoy social and physical activity, through the conduit of football and Manchester City, to promote active and engaged lifestyles in the face of the challenge’s dementia can bring.
The Reminiscity programme is due to commence over the summer of 2021 and will consist of a six-week programme of activity, taking place in and around the Etihad Stadium and Campus. Activity will include social elements, where participants can relive classic Manchester City matches and group discussions on Manchester City history, as well as physical activity such as stadium walks and arts and crafts.
The programme will also look to make full use of the Etihad Stadium Sensory Room, with participants able to experience the benefits of innovative sensory technology built into the space. It is also hoped that as a legacy benefit to this programme, CITC coaches will also be able to offer Dementia Walking Football to participants.
Reminiscity will form a key new offering, as part of CITC’s wider One City Disability outreach programme, using football to improve and enrich lives and communities in Manchester.
One City Disability provides opportunity for participants to take part in free football and sporting provision relevant to their specific disability, ensuring that participants across Greater Manchester have access to disability specific provision and education.
Disabled participants do not always feel comfortable or able to access universal provision, it is important to provide disability specific sports to provide participants with a development and participation pathway, regardless of their disability or impairment.
Recently Sean Dwyer, CITC Disability Outreach Officer, caught up with Tony Monaghan, a Walking Football participant who spent his career as a paramedic, including working with people living with dementia, to hear more on how football helps to maintain an active lifestyle.
Tony said,
Dementia is a scourge really, in terms of it effects not only an individual, but also effects all the people connected with that person too, both from a physical and mental perspective, but also a financial perspective.
It’s a misconception that only the elderly can suffer from the impacts of dementia. People can get dementia at any age, which can have a major impact on family and finances, if you think that someone getting dementia in their forties or fifties might be the main breadwinner in a family.
Dementia itself of course can be very, very challenging. In the early stages, the changes in that person might be quite subtle, but as the syndrome develops then things start to get harder. Things might progress from mild symptoms, to an individual becoming inactive, isolated and non-compliant. And as those things progress, it can have a detrimental impact on physical health too.
So, exercise is an incredibly important part of dealing with people who suffer from dementia, as the more physical exercise they get helps to limit the timely progression of dementia and its associated problems.
The impact of activities like Reminicity can have a massive impact, particularly on people in the early stages of dementia. Football, particularly with people taking part in things like walking football can help, with physical effort helping manage and improve things like blood pressure and lowering cholesterol levels.
It’s also things like the fact participants will be able to socialise with each other, which is very important. People with dementia sometimes have short term memory loss, though can indeed remember things from their youth very clearly indeed.
So, in terms of getting involved with football and Manchester City, participants become an ‘active member’ again, and they’re taking part in football again, the memories as well as the social and physical side doing them a lot of good.
Sean Dwyer added,
We’re delighted to be able to offer this programme to fans and people within Greater Manchester who are suffering from dementia. We’re responding to a need we’ve identified in consideration of our One City Disability programmes and wider mental health provision, and we very much look forward to being able to over our support and facilities in engaging those suffering from dementia.
For further information, or to express interest in registering a friend or relative to CITC’s upcoming Reminicity programme over the summer, please contact Sean Dwyer directly.
Additionally, support and information in regard to Dementia can be found online at Dementia UK as well as the Alzheimer’s Society website.
