Show us the love

Thousands of Valentine’s Day cards will arrive in the mailboxes of our political leaders at Parliament House in Canberra today.

Alzheimer’s Australia’s Valentine’s Day campaign has encouraged Australians over the past few weeks to tell their personal stories to their leaders.

Alzheimer’s Australia Victorian branch chief executive, Maree McCabe, says the Valentine’s Day cards also give Australians the “opportunity to explain why they need $500 million over five years in the May Federal Budget to fund dementia awareness, early diagnosis, care and support, risk reduction and investment in research”.

“Our leaders can expect to see a second influx of Valentine’s Day cards after we take to the streets of every major city today to encourage the wider community to join the fight,” Ms McCabe reveals.

She will join the Alzheimer’s Australia Victorian team in Melbourne at Flinders Street Station from 4pm to 7pm (local time) to urge people to “get behind this very important campaign”.

The organisation’s Valentine’s Day campaign is the latest in a string of ongoing campaigns led by Alzheimer’s Australia to secure much needed funding to combat the looming dementia epidemic.

There are about 280,000 Australians living with dementia, with 69,000 in Victoria, and this number will soar nationally to almost one million by 2050.

“The 280,000 Australians in total with dementia, plus the estimated 1.2 million people who care for them need to be given hope that our government is committed to beating dementia now, and in the future, by ensuring the Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Action Plan is supported this federal budget,” Ms McCabe urges.

Victoria’s Council on the Ageing chief executive, Sue Hendy, tells DPS News “campaigns like this are an important part of the process of enabling people to make their voices heard”.

“Older people and those living with dementia can be heard via their carer or directly in this campaign. Not everyone will be diagnosed with dementia, but people fear the loss of their memory more than anything.

“Our memory is central to who we are and our capacity to function, to love and be loved – and therefore Valentine’s day is a good link to this issue,” she says.

Share your personal stories about dementia with us by commenting in the box below. For more information on Alzheimer’s Australia’s Valentine’s Day campaign, click here.