ST. ALBANS, WV (WOWK) – Local nonprofit, Dementia Friendly St. Albans opened an Experience Trailer. The trailer is used to teach those without dementia what having it feels like.

People lined up outside the mobile trailer and were given earmuffs and mittens. They were also asked to complete a set of tasks, all while their senses were dulled. This was done to simulate the experience of having dementia.

“Feel that confusion, feel that frustration. Then we do an empowerment session after they go through the trailer to discuss and talk about that,” says Chris Braley, Co-Chair of Dementia Friendly St. Albans.

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Thanks to Dementia Friendly St. Albans, the town has become a dementia-friendly city. This means that many people, businesses, and public services are trained on how to behave around those with dementia, and how to make those people feel safe and supported.

Many of the volunteers with Dementia Friendly St. Albans have personal connections, like Sandy Williams, whose mother passed away from the disease seven years ago.

“My prayer is for the Lord to put somebody in my life with this so that I can help them. So, I can make what time they have left, and they may live longer than me, but I could make their world as calm as it used to be,” says Williams.

The mobile experience center will make its first stop in downtown St. Albans this August at Mountaineer Main Street.

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