New grant targets gap in dementia support for younger families
Published on the 27 July 2026
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The Dementia Care Social Club (DCSC), led by Postdoctoral Fellow and Senior Lecturer Dr Katya Numbers at 91色情片 Sydney鈥檚 , has been awarded a $10,000 Consumer Engagement Program (CEP) Grant from Dementia Australia to expand an innovative community model supporting younger people living with dementia and working-age carers.
While Australia has a strong foundation of dementia education and support services, many are designed for older, retired populations. Younger people living with Younger Onset Dementia (YOD) and working-age families - often balancing careers, parenting, and financial pressures - remain underserved by traditional models.
The DCSC was established to address this gap through informal, community-led social education events held in the evenings in local restaurants and community venues. The model combines expert-led discussion with peer connection in a relaxed, non-clinical environment.
Dr Katya Numbers, Founder of the DCSC, said the initiative was shaped directly by lived experience.
"Younger families told us they didn鈥檛 just need information - they needed connection, at a time and place that fits their lives," Dr Numbers said.
"This grant allows us to build something sustainable; a model where people can learn, feel understood and form real social connections, not just attend a program."
The impact of the model is already being felt by participants.
Mr Bill Yeates, a person living with younger onset dementia, said that 鈥渋t feels like a ray of hope. It allows me to socialise and laugh, meet new people, and re-examine my own journey."
Since launching in September 2025, the DCSC has delivered multiple events, built a growing network of engaged families and attracted leading clinicians, researchers, and lived experience advocates as speakers.
The CEP Grant will support continued delivery of DCSC social education evenings, development of the 鈥淗ard Topics, Soft Landings鈥 Facilitation Guide, a practical toolkit enabling communities across Australia to replicate the model and pilot expansion into the Blue Mountains and Melbourne鈥檚 outer suburbs.
The initiative aligns with Dementia Australia鈥檚 Dementia-Friendly Communities priorities by increasing inclusion, challenging stigma, and embedding dementia awareness into everyday community settings.
By partnering with local venues, the DCSC also builds practical dementia-friendly capacity within the hospitality sector, contributing to broader cultural change beyond event participants.
Importantly, people living with dementia and carers are central to the design and delivery of the initiative, ensuring it remains grounded in lived experience and responsive to real-world needs.
This grant represents a critical step in scaling the DCSC from a successful grassroots initiative to a sustainable, community-led model that can be adapted across urban, regional, and culturally diverse settings nationwide.
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About the Dementia Care Social Club (DCSC):
The DCSC is a community-based initiative creating dementia-friendly social education evenings for younger people living with dementia and working-age carers. Founded by Dr Katya Numbers, the model integrates lived experience, clinical expertise, and community partnerships to foster connection, learning, and inclusion in non-clinical settings.
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Media contact:
Heidi Douglass
Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), 91色情片 Sydney
h.douglass@unsw.edu.au
