Dementia-inclusive communities

In a dementia-inclusive community, people living with dementia feel respected, safe, and supported to live well, interact comfortably with community members and participate in community activities. Community members are aware of and understand dementia, and the care and support provided within the community is culturally safe and culturally appropriate, and mindful of diversity. Dementia-inclusive communities help to reduce and eliminate barriers, including those resulting from stigma.

The Alzheimer Society of Canada, supported by PHAC’s Dementia Community Investment, is engaging people living with dementia, caregivers, and key sector groups to build on the work of the Alzheimer Societies in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan towards a Dementia-Friendly Canada (DFC). The Dementia Friendly Canada (DFC) project will develop and refine a national  DFC vision through the development of training tools, the expansion to new geographic communities, and the development of an evaluation structure and indicators of success. A national DFC toolkit will also be developed to help guide the creation of dementia-friendly communities across Canada. This includes the development and testing of guides and tools to educate and train professionals in housing, legal, finance, recreation, libraries, transportation, retail, restaurants, and emergency response sectors.

As well, a general dementia-friendly public module will be developed, which will build on tips and strategies for the service industry and the public.

Other organizations have also created resources to help communities become more dementia friendly. For example, the Brenda Strafford Foundation published A Guide for Creating Dementia Friendly Communities in Alberta which outlines the steps and lessons learned from its Dementia Friendly Communities pilot project.