A dementia support charity in Manchester facing closure will be able to continue operating after receiving a £366,000 grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.

Together Dementia Support has been awarded the money to ensure it can “continue providing its services and to expand to meet growing demand”, said the funder.

This includes running two minibuses, a 13 strong team of staff and managing 100 volunteers to provide one-to-one support and run activity groups.

It also runs training, guidance and advocacy services for family carers and provide peer support.

Chief executive Sally Ferris said that without the funding “we would have been looking at closure, which would have left people completely isolated”.

She added that demand for its support “is greater than ever and is only going to increase”.
“Diagnosis rates are going up, and more and more families are struggling to cope with the impact of dementia on their lives.

“The grant will really strengthen and improve our provision of essential community services and will enable us to grow so more people can benefit.

“With our future more secure we can develop new work, help sustain a better quality of life for more people living with dementia and their carers and amplify their voices. We are relied upon for urgent advice and help by hundreds of unpaid dementia carers across Manchester and beyond.”

The funding, which is the third it has received from the National Lottery, will also help the Moss Side based charity pay for a new post of operations and data manager.

One family carer who is supported by the charity said: “This charity’s work is invaluable” adding “we’d be lost without them”.

According to the charities register Together Dementia Support’s income for the year ending June 2024 was £480,428, including £119,681 from four government grants.

However, over this period its spending was £502,604. This is the second time in the last five years where its spending has outstripped its income.

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