About this project

The ambition for Age Friendly Leeds is to make Leeds “the best city to grow old in”

Dementia Friendly Leeds is a campaign to raise awareness of dementia and make services more accessible. The aim is to ensure people who are living with dementia – along with their carers – remain an active part of their city and keep doing the things they enjoy. 

Read the latest edition of the Friendly Communities newsletter.
Subscribe to the Friendly Communities newsletter.
Read the independent evaluation of the Friendly Communities project.

Ways to get involved

There are a number of ways that you as an individual, or an organisation, can get involved in our Friendly Communities initiatives.

Join the Age Friendly Leeds Steering Group

For older people living in Leeds – share your views, ideas, experiences or skills to help make Leeds more Age Friendly. We meet every month at Leeds City Museum/on Zoom.
Contact Elizabeth for more information:
email elizabeth@opforum.org.uk / phone 0787 1371 819

Become an Age and Dementia Friendly Business

We encourage business and organisations to become more Age and Dementia Friendly.
You can check out our free guide to being an Age and Dementia Friendly business or organisation.

Learn how to make your business age and dementia friendly >
See a full list of Age and Dementia Friendly businesses and organisations in Leeds >

Take part in Wise Up To Ageism

If you’re one of our Age and Dementia Friendly businesses, access this free training session for your team. This 1.5 hour session can be delivered either online or face to face. Wise Up to Ageism aims to raise awareness, encourages you to reflect and helps you challenge ageism in your everyday life.

Become an Age Friendly Ambassador

We have over 170 Age Friendly Ambassadors in Leeds! Anyone who is willing to take action to help raise awareness and spread the Age Friendly message to others can sign up as an ambassador.
Find out how to get involved >

Become a Dementia Friend

With around 8,500 people in Leeds living with dementia, this is an issue that effects a huge number of local people and will have an impact on many more in the future.

See how you can play your part >

Join the Come In and Rest Scheme

We manage the ‘Come in and Rest’ scheme, through which local businesses and services can show they are welcoming to older people who may want to pop in and sit down for a while.
See which businesses are on the scheme >

Find a dementia support group near you

There are lots of Memory Cafes, Singing groups and other social opportunities in Leeds for people living with dementia. Check out the Dementia Friendly Leeds What’s on listing for all the latest information.

Take part in Dementia Action Week

Dementia Action Week is a national campaign led by Alzheimer’s Society. Dementia Action Week 2023 ran from 15-21 May. It was marked by a range of events across Leeds, including our own Friendly Communities event, at Leeds Civic Hall, on Thursday 18 May.

Watch this space for news of Dementia Action Week 2024.

Join the DEEP ‘Up and Go’ Group

For anyone living with dementia in Leeds – join the Up and Go group to share your experiences and help make Leeds a Dementia Friendly city. The Up and Go group is part of the National DEEP (Dementia Engagement and Empowerment Project) network, and is run in partnership with Leeds Playhouse. We meet every two weeks, currently online via zoom. The best way to join both the Age Friendly Steering Group or the DEEP group is to contact the Friendly Communities team.

DEEP is a network of groups of people with dementia all across the UK. There are around 80 groups, and DEEP connects them together to share their experience, and to support each other.

Discover more about DEEP groups >

Age Proud Leeds campaign

Age Proud Leeds ran from 2019 to 2022. It  raised awareness of ageism, with a view to changing negative attitudes around ageing and challenging how older people are viewed in society.
Learn more about Age Proud Leeds >