Smith Partnership, the Dementia Friendly Firm!

Staff members of the Smith Partnership Leicester branch today joined together to learn more about Dementia, and to join the renowned Dementia Friends campaign. Staff from across the various departments, including Family, Crime, Dispute Resolution, Conveyancing and Wills, Trusts and Probate joined the session hosted by our very own Dementia Friend Champion and Private Client Lawyer, Lisa Franklin. This session is of many that Lisa has hosted in an effort to raise awareness about Dementia within our local community. Smith Partnership continues to be committed to this worthy cause and both Lisa and Head of department, Darren Perry (who also encourages the wider community in his capacity as a Dementia Friend Champion), are continuing to roll out sessions to staff across the firm and beyond.

The group shared their own experiences of Dementia and there was notable astonishment amongst the group when explaining how Dementia affects those around us, and how a simple change in our perception can positively impact those living with Dementia. One attendee commented “Understanding why my loved one is doing some of the seemingly haphazard things he has been recently will now change the way I am able to help him going forward. My first instinct has always been to protect him, but having leant what I have from the session today, I will now try to understand his logic first of all when helping him in the future.”

Lisa comments, “It was a pleasure to host a session to such a willing and proactive group. It was very obvious to me from the outset that the staff at the Smith Partnership already have an enhanced level of compassion, which is fundamental in our firm in continuing to be a client friendly organisation. I was pleased to be able to add to this today by explaining Dementia in more detail and I have hopefully changed perceptions of Dementia within the group. It was fantastic to hear some of the dementia friendly actions that the group have committed to build upon in their professional, day to day routines.”

Smith Partnership is proud to be participating in Dementia Awareness Week 2019 and taking a lead role in the East Midlands.

Lisa will be hosting public sessions at the Leicester branch in the coming weeks and is urging anyone with an interest in learning more about Dementia and how it affects people, to book onto a free by contacting her directly using the following email address: lisa.franklin@smithpartnership.co.uk

To find out more about the Dementia Friends initiative, please click here.