As part of our dedication to be ‘more than a football club’, Tranmere Rovers provide a wide variety of weekly mental health and wellbeing sessions at the Prenton Park Recreation Centre.
Throughout the week, local people young and old visit the centre for a number of engaging workshops and meetups. One of the most popular groups is the Dementia Friends Afternoon held on a Thursday, where those suffering with Dementia can come along with their carers to gain support from others in a similar position.
In 2016 the UK’s leading Dementia charity asked all 111 PFL and EFL clubs across England and Wales to run Dementia Friends information sessions. The Alzheimer’s Society hopes to reach more than four million Dementia Friends members by 2020 and Tranmere Rovers has been showing it’s support by hosting a weekly get-together for older people in the community who have become isolated due to the devastating disease.
On Thursday, first team players Jonny Smith and Jay Devine visited the Recreation Centre to meet some of the attendees. They got to practice their formation skills in a game of dominos and somehow managed to avoid the many offers of cupcakes and biscuits from their new friends. The afternoon was then rounded off by a special Wirral-themed quiz - we won’t reveal the score boys!
Steve Williams, Tranmere Rovers in the Community’s Development Officer, said: “TRIC provide the Dementia Friends session to ensure that our football club is a place where people with Dementia and their carers feel understood and included.”
“We want to tackle the social isolation that often follows a diagnosis, not only for those suffering but for their friends and families as well because caring for somebody can also take a big part of your social life away.”
“Coming here and seeing the same people each week, following each other’s ups and downs, it makes a huge difference to your outlook and helps you to feel involved in something more than what goes on at home.
“It’s great that the players have taken the time to come down and get involved with our community sessions because they are such a big part of what goes on every day at Tranmere Rovers”.
The Tranmere Rovers Dementia Friends Afternoon runs from 2pm-4pm in the Prenton Park Recreation Centre.
For more information, call 0151 608 2354 or email Community@tranmererovers.co.uk