A dementia awareness programme led by National Museums Liverpool is expanding its companion app to support people in the LGBTQ+ community living with dementia.
National Museums Liverpool’s ‘House of Memories’ programme offers training, access to resources, and museum-based activities to enable carers to provide care for people living with dementia.
Its app, My House of Memories, was first launched at the House of Commons in 2014. It allows users with dementia to explore objects from the past and share memories.
Now, with funding from Alzheimer Research UK’s Inspire Fund, House of Memories will work with Switchboard – a ‘by and for’ charity that supports the LGBTQ+ communities – to collect a digital archive of audio, video, objects and photography, stored in the My House of Memories app.
The app will feature real life memories and experiences from the LGBTQ+ community, which people living with dementia and their loved ones can explore, to create their own bespoke set of memories. Users can also add their own media to further personalise the app.
Switchboard will showcase landmarks, social spaces and people from LGBTQ+ history for users to browse in the app. It will also tackle other subjects including PRIDE, queer art and film and living through the HIV/Aids epidemic.
Last year the museum launched a version of its app for the Yemeni community.
National Museums Liverpool expands dementia app for Yemeni community
Carol Rogers, director of House of Memories, said: “Creating an app to support members of the LGBTQ+ community living with dementia and their carers, is something we’re really excited about.
“We’d like to thank Switchboard for giving us this great opportunity to collect memories from LGBTQ+ communities that will help spark conversations and improve the lives of people living with dementia.”
National Museums Liverpool first launched House of Memories at the Museum of Liverpool in 2012, and has trained more than 12,500 caregivers to date.
