Hi theblacklist, That's me, my brother and my mum before she past away :(

After the death of our mother Pearl Wilson due to Alzheimer's we found there was a lack of cultural support and adequate awareness for people from African and Caribbean Decent during the ten year period from her diagnosis, we have decided to set up a support group to help other carers who are in the same position that we was once in and also those who may end up in this position because their family member or friend may be suffering from it but have not yet been diagnosed.

Support Network

We aim to run a series of awareness campaigns to help members of the African and Caribbean Community get a better understanding of dementia and any related illnesses, learn more about early warning signs, remove the stigma of having Alzheimer Disease and encourage our elders to go for regular check ups, diagnoses and how to cope and ensure a quality of life for the affected loved one.

Culture plays a big role in the escalation of Alzheimer's especially for people from BME communities and is crucial toward helping the individual feel comfortable, familiar and safe and can help reduce the rate of decline for the individual.

We aim to setup, promote and assist existing African and Caribbean Culturally sensitive day centres, family day outs and activities to keep our elders mentally stimulated across the UK, along with this we will develop Memory Cafes and sing for the brain programs to help improve the lives of anyone who is suffering from early stage dementia and their carers.

We aim to encourage relevant Caribbean Restaurants to introduce a Meals on Wheels service to help people who are not well enough to cook for themselves or carers who are unable to cook the type of food that the person they are caring for may expect or is use to.

Get Involved

We are asking for your  support by way of a donation  small or large towards  our  target to help us to put in place and run a support network for people suffering from Dementia, Alzheimer's and/or any other related illness, you can kindly make a donation on our gofundme website https://www.gofundme.com/pearlsupport

We are also developing a website which can be found at www.pearlsupportnetwork.org.uk and a mobile app for carers and sufferers of dementia and related services where they can find support and network with people of African and Caribbean decent who have either experienced the loss of someone through dementia or Alzheimer's or they are experiencing it now, the site will give members a chance to interact with each other, where carers, care workers, and care homes can ask questions and get answers from someone who is qualified to do so or some who has been through it themselves. The website will also offer links to useful services and advice on what they should expect from Social Services.

We are also looking at developing culturally sensitive products for people with dementia which we hope will also be used by care homes and day centres as part of their daily activities for dementia sufferers.

So please help by visiting:https://www.gofundme.com/pearlsupport and making a donation, it really doesn't matter how small as anything will help.

Thank you and take care

Junior & Karl
junior@blacknet.co.uk
Blacknet UK