The Dementia Friendly Tri-Cities initiative was spearheaded by several community members. St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina served as a champion of the group and was instrumental in helping achieve a great level of support. The committee was comprised of 38 members, representing 9 different sectors. Many of the members have dementia related resources available to share with the community as the need arises.
Dementia Friendly Tri-Cities believes that creating a dementia supportive community enriches the lives of everyone –their families, their service providers, their schools, their government, and their businesses. With compassion, respect, and understanding for those seniors and their families who suffer in silence and isolation, they strive to enhance the vitality of our communities by:
- Building awareness of the signs and symptoms of dementia – for the families where we live and work
- Making training available, adaptable and easily accessible – for this growing population and their caregivers
- Providing practical tools and guidelines – for our first responders and other critical support services
- Fostering and communicating dementia friendly practices – for the benefit of our entire community
- Championing and coordinating the contributions of local services, government agencies and social services – to drive common messages and minimize complexity
In order to achieve these ideals, the Dementia Friendly Tri-Cities group put the following goals into place, which will be worked on through a sub-committee structure. These goals were developed as a result of a group exercise conducted to identify areas of concern as well as expertise within the committee. Additional goals will be added as identified through participant feedback on an ongoing basis.
Dementia Friendly Tri-Cities Goals
- Surveys
- Education
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