A charity helping people living with Dementia - Dementia Matters in Powys (DMiP) - celebrated eight years of activities at their meeting centre in Brecon on Thursday, March 21.

The charity feared that it might face closure in the latter months of 2023, but volunteers have worked tirelessly to keep their meeting centres open.

Attendees took part in a musical activity to help stimulate bodies and minds before they enjoyed a poem to celebrate the eight years gone.

Theatr Brycheiniog provided lunch before a performance of Sosban Fach by volunteers of the charity, pupils from Mount Street Junior School and pupils from Llanfaes CP Shool.

Pupils from Llanfaes handed over a cheque of £861, that they had raised for Dementia Matters in Powys, to Chief Officer of the charity, Deborah Gerrard.

James Evans MS, who is a supporter of Dementia Matters in Powys, attended the celebrations.

Mr Evans told The Brecon & Radnor Express: “This charity is very important. Dementia Matters in Powys does incredible work, not just here [Brecon], but in Llandrindod Wells and right across Powys.

“It’s very precarious at the minute with their funding situation and my encouragement would be to those people making decisions on the health board and others is look at the model here at Dementia Matters - it’s a model that does really need to be funded.

“They do incredible work with the volunteers and the team. There’s a lot of vulnerable people out there and this gives respite to family members and those people who need their help and support, so I think it’s very very important that this is supported for the great work they do here, with the board and everything that goes on. They do amazing work.”

Deborah Gerrard said: “The last year for Dementia Matters in Powys has been particularly difficult with funding issues, so we are over the moon to be able to get to our eighth year to celebrate in Brecon Meeting Centre.

“We’d like to politely ask businesses in Powys for corporate support with regards to space for storage, ideally in Llandrindod. Thank you.”