A free community open day for the LGBT+ Memory Lane Café will be held at the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda from 1:15pm to 3:45pm AEDT on Monday 26 October.
Dementia Australia says the café is for LGBT+ people living with dementia, along with their families. The organisation also describes it as an Australia-first service. It opened in 2024 and has been running from the Victorian Pride Centre in Melbourne.
The café welcomes LGBT+ people, allies, families, friends and caregivers affected by dementia. According to Dementia Australia, it offers an inclusive place for companionship and connection to dementia services.
The open day will include entertainment, light refreshments, and time for people to meet, socialise and ask questions.
Stokes said members of the LGBT+ community living with dementia have often experienced discrimination and been denied access to inclusive services.
“That is why this LGBT+ Memory Lane Café is so important as a safe space that offers connection,” Dr Stokes said.
Victorian Pride Centre hosts inclusive café
The LGBT+ Memory Lane Café at the Victorian Pride Centre is a joint initiative between Dementia Australia, the Victorian Pride Centre and Lifeview Residential Care. It operates every six weeks and includes entertainment and light refreshments.
Lifeview CEO Samantha Jewell said the café had made a genuine difference to LGBTI+ people living with dementia, as well as their families and loved ones. Victorian Pride Centre CEO Paul Horwell also said the open day would give people a chance to see the café and engage with the community.
“Dementia doesn’t only affect the person diagnosed. It affects partners, chosen family and friends, and many of them have had to deal with services that didn’t see or acknowledge their relationships,” Mr Horwell said.
Pride Café volunteer Mikael Wagner, whose sister lived with dementia, described the café as a place of joy and happiness.
“Volunteering with people living with dementia has taught me that even when memories fade, the capacity to connect, laugh, dance, sing and feel love never disappears,” Mr Wagner said.
Dementia Australia estimates 433,300 Australians are living with dementia, with another 1.7 million involved in their care.
People can register for the open day at https://events.humanitix.com/caring-out-loud-dementia-support-open-day or email [email protected] for more information about the café.
Information is also available at dementia.org.au.
