Rotherham Council has announced it will launch a competitive grant process worth at least £97,000 to keep the borough's dementia cafes running.
The council said a "key objective" of the cafes was to "support unpaid carers" and avoid carer fatigue and breakdown.
A grant of £97,485 per year for three years is expected to be advertised this month. A provider is expected to be appointed in October, ahead of the current agreement ending on 31 March next year.
Services across the borough
The dementia cafes operate at venues across Brampton Bierlow, Brinsworth, Dalton, Maltby, Thurcroft, Whiston and Swinton. They offer one-to-one support for carers and support people living with dementia.
The cafes see people meeting together and sharing in joint activities such as arts and crafts, music, singing and dancing.
Demand continues to rise
According to Drew Hallsmith, from the Alzheimer's Society (Sheffield and Rotherham), the borough has "one of the best diagnosis rates in the country". However, he said that meant demand for services was high, with about 230 recent referrals to the council-funded dementia cafes, up by 160 in the last year.
Feedback from a survey conducted in June and July this year into the cafes was "overwhelmingly positive", according to a Rotherham Council report.
Helena Muller, from Lost Chord, a charity that regularly takes musicians into the dementia cafes, said it was "tremendous" the council planned to continue the service as "they are reaching out to the community and trying to reduce isolation. It's incredible".
Hallsmith said though he welcomed the renewed funding for dementia cafes in Rotherham, he was hopeful this could be an opportunity to take a "more creative" approach to dementia support services, to consider the needs of younger groups and those from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
