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In the news: BASILDON sign goes purple to show our support on Dementia Action Week

As the sun's gone each day this week, the Basildon sign has been illuminating purple to raise awareness and show our support on Dementia Action Week.

Dementia affects a large proportion of our borough and beyond - a person is formally diagnosed with dementia approximately every three minutes in the UK, and one in three of us will live with dementia at some point during our lifetime. 

Basildon Council leads the Basildon Dementia Action Alliance - a group made up of relevant partner organisations to ensure we are meeting the needs of people with dementia living in our borough, including influencing dementia support across all council services such as customer service, building design, and co-designing services.

Leader of Basildon Council Councillor Andrew Baggott said: "The Basildon sign is an iconic landmark of our borough, and it's great that we can use it as a tool to raise awareness of matters such as Dementia Action Week.

"I'm proud that the Basildon sign has turned purple, and I'm proud of the great work of the Basildon Dementia Action Alliance to better the lives of our residents living with Dementia."

Basildon Council Representative on the Basildon Dementia Action Alliance Councillor Jeff Henry added: "Dementia affects such a staggering amount of the population, but there's also tens of thousands of people living with undiagnosed dementia, which makes the need to raise awareness of the illness even more important.

"Our famous Basildon sign is the perfect tool to be able to raise that awareness, so I'm glad to see it shining brightly this week."

For more information on Dementia Action Week and to find out how you can get involved or get support, visit: www.alzheimers.org.uk

ENDS

Published on Friday 20 May