Funding will go towards Paths for All’s Dementia Friendly Walking project

Scotland’s walking charity has been given £50,000 to help those living with dementia get outdoors and get walking.

Funding, which has been secured for two years, will go towards Paths for All’s Dementia Friendly Walking project, Care about Walking, which aims to embed physical activity and walking into the culture of care homes across the country.

The project will work with care homes in Perth and Kinross to improve older adults’ physical health and mental wellbeing through encouraging group and independent walking, strength and balance exercises, and improvements to the care home environment.

Paths for All is one of 17 organisations to receive funding from the Changing Lives through Sport and Physical Activity Fund, which aims to positively change lives through sport and physical activity.

People living in care homes spend most of their day sitting or lying down increasing their risk of physical and psychological ill health.

Keeping active in later life through strength and balance activities or chair-based exercises and short walks helps to reduce the risk of falls.

Ian Findlay, chief officer at Paths for All, said: “We currently support 28 projects to deliver Dementia Friendly Health Walks across Scotland with a team of 600 trained Volunteer Walk Leaders.

“They support anyone living with dementia to enjoy walking outdoors safely and to connect with their local green space and community.

“The £50,000 will enable us to work with 10 care homes in Perth and Kinross to offer person centred physical activity programmes based around walking and strength and balance exercises.”

The funding will be given to Paths for All in April 2019.