The ABF is delighted to award a grant of £10,700 to Age UK Lancashire to deliver Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) to veterans living with mild to moderate dementia in the Morecambe Bay area of Lancashire. The programme will offer vital support to a traditionally hard-to-reach community, helping to improve quality of life and reduce isolation.
Age UK Lancashire supports older people across Lancashire, Blackpool, and North Sefton with a wide range of services, from dementia care and scams prevention to digital inclusion and support after hospital stays. Between 2023 and 2024, the charity supported more than 74,000 older people, family members, and carers, including over 200 isolated veterans.
Dementia is a life limiting condition with no cure. CST aims to improve the cognitive abilities of older people through activity sessions that stimulate and engage people living with mild to moderate dementia. It is the only non-clinical treatment recognised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as being effective in management of dementia.
This grant will help Age UK Lancashire provide three 13-week CST programmes specifically for the hundreds of veterans living in Morecambe, creating a safe and familiar space for them to connect, engage, and maintain cognitive function.
The group-based sessions will run in an accessible community venue and focus on stimulating memory and thinking skills through themed activities such as travel, money, and local history. Sessions are free to attend, and each participant’s cognitive progress will be monitored using a standardised screening tool.
Teri Stephenson, CEO of Age UK Lancashire, said:
“We’re so grateful for this funding from the ABF. It will enable us to deliver vital services for veterans with mild to moderate dementia. We know that CST makes a huge impact and are delighted to be offering this to veterans in Morecambe. Thank you to the ABF for your generosity.”
Brigadier (Ret’d) Peter Monteith, Chief Operating Officer, Army Benevolent Fund, added:
“We are proud to support Age UK Lancashire in addressing the growing challenge of dementia among older veterans. This programme provides much-needed therapeutic support while also strengthening community bonds and tackling the isolation that too many veterans experience.”
To find out more about Age UK Lancashire, visit their website here.