Meg Pickup, Ballina
I have cared for a family member with dementia so am shocked Dementia Australia (DA) will ditch their physical presence in Tweed and terminate the Diversity and Inclusion Officer position.
Vital support for people with dementia, and their carers, across the Northern Rivers, a region with one of the highest incidences of dementia in Australia, will disappear – increasing disadvantage. This is an example of DA’s myopic and retrograde lack of commitment to regional Australia.
Because of the nature of dementia, people living with it and their carers benefit most from personalised, tailored support. Despite this, DA will revert to a one-size-fits-all model, reliant on digital technology. Those who lack the capacity to communicate by this means will slip through the cracks.
DA receives significant Australian government funding. Fewer bureaucrats and more grassroots employees would better support this most vulnerable group in society.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
