Dementia is still a disease that is often stigmatized and taboo. It is therefore important to talk about it in order to remove fear and shame from the disease. Dementia occurs in the immediate environment. Every person is unique and at the same time family systems are faced with similar challenges. Dementia affects not only medicine and care, but all areas of life as the disease progresses. Social, financial and legal issues are essential in this context in order to be able to cope with everyday life as well as possible.
Being able to live independently and at home for as long as possible is a need of many people, especially in old age. Innovative assistance systems that help maintain independence and mobility in one's own four walls for longer can make an important contribution to this. In the Human.technology Styria cluster, a lot is being done for science, research and practicality through networking and knowledge transfer. Network Dementia Styria (Needs), a community member of HTS since 2023, is also using a variety of networks to search for solutions that help improve the quality of life for people with dementia and their relatives and to strengthen their care in a needs-oriented manner.
With the "Memory Bus", which will be traveling in Styria from the "Long Day of Dementia" in September 2024, Needs can come into contact with people in a more mobile and barrier-free manner to inform them about support services. At the same time, it sets a sensitizing signal in public spaces that people with dementia and their relatives and friends deserve a place in the middle of society. "We are therefore happy and grateful that through this cooperation and the support of HTS, Vogl&Co and the Graz AAL Center with the Memory Bus, the removal of taboos and information about dementia will become even more visible," says Managing Director Peter Rosegger.
