First dementia-friendly parking space allocated in Swakop

The Platz am Meer waterfront mall in Swakopmund recently introduced two dementia-friendly parking bays, which could be the first of its kind in Namibia. The two parking bays are specifically located in an area where the vehicle owners can walk in and out of the mall in a straight line across the pedestrian crossing. The bays are also bigger and alone, making them easily identifiable and accessible. A purple dementia-friendly sign show where it is. Dementia is an overarching condition of terminal mental deterioration that affects many mental and physical abilities, such as memory and comprehension, which can render a person helpless – where everyday activities are forgotten, or become impossible; the last phase is physical: loss of mobility, swallowing challenges and incontinence. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Berrie Holtzhausen, activist for people living with dementia and the founder of Alzheimer Dementia Namibia (ADN), has been campaigning with the Swakopmund municipality and business community to develop and introduce dementia-friendly facilities and services. Platz am Meer manager Hestie Langeveld said the two bays are in response of Holtzhausen’s plight. “This was his vision for Swakopmund, and we believe that it is a good thing, especially being a community centre. We want to show ourselves as a community centre, and this is a community parking bay,” she told Erongo 24/7. Langeveld added that there are already parking bays for people with disabilities, but it was necessary to introduce bays specifically for people living with dementia. “If someone with dementia parks in a disability bay, people might think there is nothing wrong with them because they seem normal, but they do not know the whole story.” Sufrani Uys of ADN commended Platz am Meer for taking this step, which she hopes will set an example for other businesses and institutions to follow. “We have been fighting for this for so long, but people do not bother until it happens to them or someone close to them. This is not just about parking, but awareness, as there is still a stigma and discrimination of people living with dementia,” she said. “For us, this is a bigger picture; this is the start of awareness.” Uys explained that when a person has dementia, they could ultimately lose everything (not just their mental capacity). Until then, people diagnosed with dementia can still have a good quality of life. “We want to help them enjoy that quality while they still can, and having such a dementia-friendly facility at a mall is perfect because here we have all the important places, such as pharmacies, banks, and a shop for groceries,” she said. “Next, we want to train shop staff to recognize people with dementia and assist them when they need special help.” People with dementia can get a special parking disc by providing ADN with their official diagnosis and car registration number.

First dementia-friendly parking space allocated in Swakop

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Republikein 2025-05-01

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First dementia-friendly parking space allocated in Swakop

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