Written by Brenda Hancock, Coordinator of Dementia Friendly Petersburg
Innovation: the act of making changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas or products. I cannot think of a better word to describe what Dementia Friendly Communities are bringing to towns and counties across the United States to provide education and reduce the stigma surrounding dementia.
What is a Dementia Friendly Community? Dementia Friendly America defines a Dementia Friendly Community as a village, town, city or county that is informed, safe and respectful of individuals with the disease and those individuals’ families and caregivers and which provides supportive options that foster quality of life.
Currently, Indiana has nine designated Dementia Friendly Communities, four of which have been established under the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program grant through the University of Southern Indiana in partnership with local area agencies on aging, Generations and SWIRCA & More, and the Alzheimer’s Association. These communities include Dementia Friendly Petersburg, Dementia Friendly Rockport, Dementia Friendly Tell City and Dementia Friendly USI Community.
Local action teams comprised of people living with dementia, caregivers, local businesses, faith communities, healthcare systems, local government, first responders and more work together to generate ideas and activities that serve to educate their community about dementia, to support people in their community who are living with dementia and to provide activities and resources to their community to create an overall more inclusive environment for people living with dementia and their caregivers. Because the action team is made up of local community members, each Dementia Friendly Community is unique and activities are tailored to that specific community. This means that no two Dementia Friendly Communities are the same!
Activities such as Dementia Friends Indiana information sessions, Dementia Friendly Location training, memory cafes and Alzheimer’s Association programming are just a few of the ways that these communities move toward the goal of awareness, education, destigmatization and inclusion. However, the possibilities for any Dementia Friendly Community are endless — driven by the creativity of the action team and willingness of the community to embrace this innovative new approach to dementia.
For more information on Dementia Friendly Communities, visit Dementia Friendly America at dfamerica.org. You may also visit usi.edu and search Dementia Friendly Communities to find out more about how you can participate in your local community.
