Current Dementia Friendly Communities

Dementia Friendly Elgin, a collaboration between the Gail Borden Public Library District and the Northeastern Illinois Agency on Aging, has created a Dementia Friendly Advisory Council consisting of dedicated partners from local government, faith communities, law enforcement, the community and residential care services—making this a true community initiative. Together, their vision is to improve the lives, independence, welfare and dignity of those with memory issues, while maintaining the greatest level of compassion, expertise and integrity. Dementia Friendly Elgin is dedicated to strengthening and supporting those with memory impairments and their caregivers by raising awareness, reducing social stigmas, educating and communicating best practices.

Dementia Friendly Evanston (DFE) is a community-wide education, outreach, collaboration and advocacy group with the mission to maximize the quality of life, community participation, and independence for Evanstonians living with dementia and their care partners. DFE’s vision is to create a welcoming and barrier-free community for individuals with dementia and their care partners through compassion, support and stigma reduction.

The Dementia Friendly Glencoe Initiative aims to provide community-wide education on awareness and mindfulness around dementia that will help impacted individuals continue engaging in community life while living independently and enhancing their quality-of-life.

For information about Dementia Friendly Grayslake, please email Mike Steiner, Community Lead, at mike@rightathomenlc.com.

For information about Dementia Friendly Kankakee, please email Colette Jordan at cjordan@ageguide.org or Cindy DeGroot at cdegroot@RHC.net. For more resources please visit AgeGuide.org.

North Chicago stakeholders held their first Dementia Friendly Community meeting on December 15, 2017, and it was a huge success.

Check back soon for more information about Dementia Friendly Oswego.

The essence of Dementia Friendly River Forest is to support people with dementia to be involved in activities and social opportunities that provide meaning and purpose in their lives for as long as possible. Through the creation of Dementia Friendly River Forest, we will tackle social isolation and stigma through education and awareness.

Dementia Friendly Westmont seeks to reduce stigma and increase support for those living with dementia by through education and coordination of resources.