extra help is being provided to people in East Renfrewshire with young onset dementia.

A community café where those affected by the illness can meet and socialise with others in the same situation has opened in Eastwood.

It is one of a series of cafés set up within Greater Glasgow and Clyde by the health board’s Young Onset Dementia (YOD) service.

The YOD team work with people diagnosed with dementia before the age of 65, as well as their families and carers.

Assistant psychologist Oona Kaarlela Galani, one of the team members behind the idea, said: “A diagnosis of dementia is always a daunting one but, for a younger person, this can be particularly difficult.

“Younger people with dementia can face particular challenges relating to work, their caring commitments and financial constraints.

“Until now, there has only been one YOD café within Greater Glasgow and Clyde, provided by Alzheimer Scotland at Bridgeton Dementia Resource Centre on a Monday.

“It is hugely popular and we want to enable more people to benefit from what these sessions have to offer.”

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The sessions last for a couple of hours and give people a chance to chat, play games and share experiences if they want to.

To find out more, pop into the café at Eastwood Health and Care Centre, in Drumby Crescent, Clarkston, which runs on the second or fourth Tuesday of the month, from 1pm to 3pm.