We’re Finalists in the Dementia in Care Awards
We have some news that we’re really proud to share — and if we’re honest, a little humbled by too.
Young at Heart ULO CIC has been named as a national finalist in the Dementia Care Awards 2026 in the Outreach Award category. The awards ceremony takes place on 24th June at the Hilton London Bankside.
We wanted to take a moment to share what this means to us, what the Dementia Care Awards are, and why being recognised in the Outreach category feels particularly meaningful.
What Are the Dementia Care Awards?
The Dementia Care Awards are a national awards programme that recognises and celebrates the individuals, teams, and organisations across the UK who are making a genuine difference to the lives of people living with dementia and those who support them. Now in their third year, the awards span a wide range of categories — from individual care workers and specialist teams to organisations like ours that work within communities rather than traditional care settings.
This year’s ceremony takes place in London, with Angela Rippon CBE returning as a special guest, and Care UK as headline sponsor. To be named as a national finalist alongside organisations from right across the UK is something we genuinely didn’t take for granted when we received the news.
What the Outreach Award Recognises
The Outreach Award recognises initiatives that have been developed and implemented to support people affected by dementia — with a specific focus on innovation, real-world impact, and the genuine involvement of people living with dementia in shaping what’s created. It’s not just about having good ideas. It’s about putting those ideas into practice, measuring what changes as a result, and making sure the people most affected are at the centre of it all rather than an afterthought.
That description matters to us, because it reflects something we feel strongly about. At Young at Heart, the people we support aren’t passive recipients of a service. They’re the reason every decision gets made, every activity gets planned, and every resource gets developed. Their voices, their preferences, and their experiences shape what we do — and that’s not a value statement on a website. It’s how we actually work – even if we don’t always get it quite right.
What We Do
Young at Heart ULO CIC is a community interest company based in Stockton-on-Tees. We support people living with dementia and unpaid family carers through regular peer support sessions and activities, dementia training for professionals and community members, practical resources and information for carers, and partnerships with local organisations that help us extend what we’re able to offer.
Over the past year we’ve supported around 150 people through our regular activities and peer support sessions — and that figure doesn’t include the many more who access our training, our online content, or our virtual support. We’ve worked with partners like The Junction Multibank to provide practical items that make a real difference to everyday life at home. We’ve responded to what carers tell us they need — whether that’s a space to connect with others who understand, a training session that helps them make sense of a difficult situation, or simply knowing that someone is there.
We don’t do this for the recognition. But moments like this do matter — because they shine a light on community-based dementia support and why it deserves to exist, to be valued, and to be funded. There are so many organisations and individuals across the UK doing extraordinary work in this space, largely unseen and very often unfunded. Awards like this help to change that.
The Judging Interview
The judging process included a formal virtual interview with the judging panel on 21st May. Twelve finalists in the Outreach category were invited to take part, representing organisations from right across the UK — from Scotland to London, from specialist care providers to community organisations like ours.
We won’t pretend the interview wasn’t nerve-wracking. It was. But it was also a genuine opportunity to talk about what we do, why we do it, and the people at the heart of it all — the people living with dementia who come through our doors, and the carers who give so much of themselves every single day.
Whatever the outcome on 24th June, we’re proud to have been in that room.
What Happens Next
The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in London on 24th June. We’ll be sharing news on our social media channels and via our newsletter as soon as we know, so do keep an eye out if you’d like to follow along.
If you’d like to find out more about the Dementia Care Awards and the organisations recognised this year, you can visit dementiacareawards.co.uk.
And if you’re reading this as someone we support, a family carer, a professional colleague, or simply someone who has cheered us along at any point — thank you. This recognition belongs to all of you as much as it does to us. You are the reason we do what we do.
Fingers crossed for the 24th.
