What is a Dementia-Friendly Community? 

 A Dementia-Friendly Community is a place where people living with dementia are understood, respected and supported; an environment where people living with dementia will be confident that they can contribute to community life. In a Dementia-Friendly Community,  people will be aware of and understand dementia, and people living with dementia will be included and have choice and control over their day-to-day lives and level of engagement.

Project Overview

 The ‘Empowering Dementia-Friendly Communities’ (Hamilton, Haldimand) is a communities-based initiative funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. This four-year investment provides an opportunity to engage persons living with dementia, care partners and stakeholders to develop, implement and evaluate promising practices, programs or initiatives that improve quality of life for persons living with dementia within their communities.

PROJECT GOALS

#1: To create dementia friendly action plans:

• As a component of the Hamilton Age Friendly Plan in Hamilton, ON; and
• In communities in Haldimand, ON that do not have an Age Friendly Plan.

#2: To enhance awareness about the need for dementia friendly strategies in order to reduce stigma and create inclusive environments for persons living with dementia, their care partners, families and friends within a community with an age friendly plan and without.

#3: Undertake intervention research to assess the effectiveness of the program or initiative and promote/apply this knowledge to support expansion of the project’s reach to new communities, sectors, populations and/or jurisdictions.

• To evaluate the strategies and processes associated with the development and implementation of dementia friendly strategies in distinct communities: (1) in a largely urban community supported by an Age Friendly Plan (Hamilton); and (2) in a rural community without an Age Friendly Plan (Haldimand).
• To share the learnings from the development and implementation of the project.

Partnerships

This project is a collaborative initiative, led by a multi-disciplinary team of organizations, including the Hamilton Council on Aging, the City of Hamilton, the City of Hamilton Seniors Advisory Committee, the Alzheimer Society of Brant, Haldimand, Norfolk, Hamilton, Halton, the GERAS Centre for Aging Research, Hamilton Health Sciences Centre, Senior Support Services of Haldimand, Haldimand War Memorial Hospital, McMaster University, the Regional Geriatric Program central and the Age Friendly Collaborative Governance Committee. This project is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada.