How to take care of the best of a person with dementia, without neglecting themselves. A free guide arrives

Face dementia and alzheimer It is a growing challenge, both for families and for the entire community. Often those who receive this diagnosis find themselves isolated, with difficulty in accessing services and reliable information. To respond to this necessity it is born Teseo – A community that takes care ofan active initiative in Milan aimed at creating a concrete support network, reducing the stigma linked to the disease and promoting a new approach to assistance.

One of the main tools developed by the project are Two fundamental guides: Live well with your illnessdedicated to patients, e Take care of a person with dementia. A practical guidedesigned for caregiver. These materials have been designed for flexible use, allowing targeted consultation thanks to a clear and accessible language. The guides are Available for free on the Teseo Project website.

According to Alessandra Moscow, psychologist and psychotherapist involved in the drafting of the guides, the goal was to create practical and easily accessible tools, to quickly provide essential information by dodging complex texts. “Our intent is to offer a clear and useful point of reference for those who live with dementia and their family,” said the expert.

The Teseo project is not naturally limited to the realization of information guides but is structured through different support servicesincluding the Operating center. This innovative service represents a reference point for families, offering first listening and a personalized welcome. Specialized operators evaluate the specific needs of patients and activate customized assistance courses, with the help of dedicated houses managers. “The Operations Center is much more than a simple service: it is a human contact that accompanies families along the entire path of assistance,” he explains Emanuele Tomasiniclinical contact person of the project.

The initiative, active since July 2023, is financed by Cariplo Foundation As part of the Welfare In Ageing call and created thanks to the collaboration between the Don Gnocchi Foundation (leader), SocialSfera Onlus, Caritas Ambrosiana, Association for Social Research and Airalz onlus. The goal is not so much to create new services but make the existing ones more accessiblesimplifying the path of families and reducing information barriers. Thanks to a multidisciplinary approach, the project combines health, social and research skills to offer support aimed at the elderly and who takes care of it.

The numbers clearly show the growing need for these interventions: only in Milan do they live Over 300 thousand people over 65 years oldof which At least 25 thousand dementia affectedwhile in Lombardy the figure reaches 200 thousand cases. The challenge is to provide effective home care to delay the use of residential structures as much as possible, reducing both economic costs and emotional weight on families.

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To date, the Teseo project has already supported over 600 between the elderly and caregiver, exceeding the initial goal of 500 beneficiaries by next June. The number of requests for help continues, among other things to increase, with hundreds of reports from different sources, including RSA, integrated home assistance, carers, sat and social custody, as well as numerous self-senifications by the families themselves.

Lamberto Bertolècouncilor for welfare and health of the Municipality of Milan, underlines the importance of building a proximity assistance system: “Dementia is not just a health issue but a social challenge that involves all of us. Creating concrete support networks is essential to prevent loneliness from worsens an already critical situation ».

Thanks to its ability to connect services, families and institutions, the Teseo project is establishing itself as a reference model for assistance to people with dementia in Milan. His experience shows that a more accessible and integrated care system is can also be achieved and replicable in other Italian citieswith the aim of guaranteeing a more human and effective support, reducing stigma and promoting a more inclusive and solidarity community.

Source: Vanity Fair

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