Dementia can happen to anyone, 1 in 3 of us will be impacted by Dementia and half of all people with Downs Syndrome will be impacted by Dementia by the time they reach 40.

We understand that people with dementia want support to lead the life they choose. So we are creating a variety of person-centred support services, which are also accessible for those with learning disabilities and autistic people.

  • We’ve recently taken over DeCafe in Sudbury, a social activity cafe, which provides community to those with dementia and their families/friends.
  • We’ve also successfully piloted a high-quality, ‘home-from-home’ short break opportunity for all people with dementia. If this is of interest to you. learn more here.
  • We have created a range of Accessible Dementia Resources, made with the help of our colleagues at Thinklusive.org! See them below
  • We are supporting current customers to determine if they may have developed dementia and how we can adjust their care to support their additional needs.

De Café

Join our friendly group of people with Dementia and their families for social activities designed to support people with Dementia to engage in enjoyable social activities and build community.

Our Dementia Project Lead (also known as our Dementia Fairy!) Milly Gaskin, talked about the DeCafe and Dementia on the Preloved Chica show on Ipswich Community Radio on October 23rd 2025. You can listen to the show here and Milly comes in 23 minutes in. ICRfm The Preloved Chica Time Capsule with Milly Gaskin.

The cafe is held at The DanceHouse, Dance East, Ipswich most Wednesdays from 11am-1pm and at Sudbury Arts Centre most Thursdays from 10.30am to
12.30pm.
No need to book, but please feel free to contact Milly Gaskin for more information (details below).
Scroll down for dates for each.

DeCafe Sudbury

November Dates

  • 13th November 2025 Poppies and Remembrance
  • 20th November 2025 International Men’s Day
  • 27th November 2025 Snoopy!

December Dates

  • 4th December Advent
  • 11th December 2025 Nobel Prizes
  • 18th December 2025 Christmas Party

flyer advertising DeCafe.The top half of the flyer is bright pink with the Leading Lives logo and the words, Dementia Cafe a social activity for people with Dementia and their families. Under a wavy purple line is the word DeCafe arching over a purple cup of coffee with two hearts above it and a white heart on the cup. the words Sudbury Arts Cafe appear in white in the bottom left of the flyer.

DeCafe Ipswich

November Dates

12th November 2025 Poppies and Remembrance

19th November 2025 International Men’s Day

26th November 2025 Snoopy!

December Dates

3rd December Advent

10th December 2025 Nobel Prizes

17th December 2025 Christmas Party

Accessible Dementia Resources

We have created two fantastic accessible Dementia Resources with the help of our colleagues at thinklusive.org

What is Dementia?

The ‘What is dementia’ easy-read is a resource to help learn more about what dementia is, what the signs and symptoms are, how to reduce the risk of developing dementia, and more!

Cathy has Dementia

We have  also created ‘Cathy has dementia’, an easy-read social story, which is a resource to help learn more about dementia symptoms and the process of diagnosis.

Both these resources are hosted on the Suffolk Ordinary Lives website. Click either cover to the right to read them. They are both downloadable and printable.

cover of What is Dementia, an easy read guide created by Leading lives and Thinkclusive. The cover is dark green with white writing and shows a picture of a female doctor holding a picture of a brain

cover of Cathy has Dementia, an easy read guide created by Leading lives and Thinkclusive. The cover is dark green with white writing and shows two pictures. One of Cathy, a woman with Downs Syndrome who is going through the dementia diagnosis process and a picture of a female doctor holding a picture of a brain

We also co-produced the fantastic video you can see to the right with the help of colleagues and Peer Educators at Ace Anglia.

All these resources were funded by Leading Lives, SNEE ICB,  and SCC, and were clinically supported by NSFT.

To find out more about our Dementia Support Services, please contact Milly Gaskin on: 07713 080 801 or via Milly.Gaskin@LeadingLives.org.uk