Contact your local government

Please consider personalising the text provided. If you have been impacted by dementia don’t forget to include that.

Instructions:

To complete this letter you will need:

The name of your local government
The postal or email address of your local government
The name of your local government’s Mayor or Shire President

You can gather this information from your local government’s website.

Template letter/email

Subject: Act Now for a Dementia-Friendly Future

Dear [Name of Mayor or Shire President],

I am a local [local government area] resident and I am writing to ask that you act now to create a dementia-friendly community this Dementia Action Week.

I am among those directly impacted by dementia.

I would like to meet to discuss the need for decisive action to reduce the stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with dementia, their families and carers. [remove this sentence if you do not want to organise a face-to-face meeting]

A 2019 survey of more than 5,000 people from across Australia revealed that 63 per cent of people living with dementia and 73 per cent of family, friends or carers of people living with dementia believe discrimination against people living with dementia is common or very common.

It’s time for [local government area] to take action to reduce fear, stigma and discrimination and to foster a greater understanding of dementia in our community. There are a range of resources on Dementia Australia’s website at dementia.org.au/get-involved/dementia-action-week#dementia-action-week-resources to help local governments to become more dementia-friendly.

[Write about your personal experience with dementia in your local community, if you feel comfortable doing so – sharing your story will help demonstrate the importance of the issue]

I look forward to hearing from you soon to discuss how we can work together to make a [local government area] a more dementia-friendly community.

Kind regards,

[Insert your full name
Insert your address
Insert your phone number]

Call to your local government or council

Consider calling your local government to talk about the need to create a dementia-friendly future.

When calling have a clear idea of what topics and issues you would like to raise. It may be useful to follow up your phone call with a letter or email.

Sample script:

Hi, my name is [Insert name]. I live in [your suburb] and I have been impacted by dementia. Did you know that dementia is the second leading cause of death of Australians and data is shows it will soon be the leading cause of death

Q: I’m ringing to find out if [your local government] is working to make our community more dementia-friendly and, if so, how ?

Q: Did you know that Dementia Australia has a toolkit specifically created to help local governments become more dementia-friendly? It’s available at dementia.org.au/get-involved/dementia-action-week

Q: With 70 per cent of people living with dementia living in the community, does [local government] seek out people with a lived experience of dementia to include them in your events and community consultations?

Q: How is planning for the increasing prevalence of dementia factored into [local government]’s strategic planning?