A SUPPORTED housing facility has played host to a virtual reality experience that simulates the experience of living with dementia.
On Monday, Belfast Trust's 'virtual dementia tour bus arrived at Cullingtree Meadows in Divis where carers and others could gain a fuller awareness and understanding of the condition.
The week-long initiative was launched by the Lord Mayor Cllr Tina Black, who hailed local activists for ensuring Divis becomes "a dementia friendly area".
"The bus is a way of showing our local people and our workers what it feels like to face dementia," she said. "It gives you a good empathetic understanding of living your life in that way.
"Cullingtree Meadows has really slotted in well with the community and it provides an invaluable service to families whose relatives are facing dementia. It's also engaging our local businesses and schools in learning about dementia."
Danny Power, Chair of Dementia Friendly West Belfast, commented: "Essentially today is about walking in somebody else's shoes.
"It's a virtual reality experience and we're hoping, not only that families and carers benefit from the experience, but also potentially people who can help us promote awareness of dementia across the West of the city.
"Part of the challenge is that a lot of people go undiagnosed and we need to make people more aware of the services that are available. We also have this fantastic facility in Cullingtree Meadows, which is a supported living facility for people with dementia."
David Brooks, Assistant Manager at Cullingtree Meadows, added: "We find that a lot of people believe dementia is just general forgetfulness. They don't understand the process of dementia on the body, how it can affect people's vision, hearing and their entire experience.
"We find the dementia bus gives people some insight into the experience of dementia and it helps them adapt how they would approach people with dementia in the future. It also helps promote the scheme and what we're trying to do here. "
