In 2016 Spominčica – Alzheimer Slovenija started developing the Dementia Friendly Spots (DFS) programme. It is a national education and awareness-raising programme connecting a wide spectrum of organisations in a network of sites providing information about dementia locally.
The network of DFS include: police and fire stations, shops, libraries, pharmacies, homes for elderly, community healthcare centres, social work centres, Red Cross, Faculty for Social Work, Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Ministry of Defence, Ministry for Internal Affairs, Medical Chamber Slovenia, National Institute for Public Health…The first DFS opened in July 2017 at the Human Rights Ombudsman office. Since, there has been a growing interest from organisations all around the country and in September 2019 there were more than 200 members in the DFS network.
The basic idea of the programme is to train employees about dementia, communication with people with dementia, post diagnostic support and rights of persons with dementia and their caregivers. DFS provide information about dementia and services available in local communities, provide support to people with dementia and their families, so they can stay at home as long as possible.
The programme is supported by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and by the Ministry of Health.
