The Town of Wake Forest and the Senior Information & Networking Group of Wake Forest (SING-WF) will host the Dementia Friendly America Statewide Conference on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The meeting will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts on Brooks Street.
The Dementia Friendly America (DFA) initiative is a multi-sector, national collaboration of over 35 leading organizations that are catalyzing a movement and set of best practices to foster dementia-friendly communities.
DFA officials will be on hand to share their assessment process, sector guides, toolkit, and partnership development ideas for implementation in participating communities. Attendees will learn how other states are utilizing their tools and resources. Several North Carolina communities will also participate in a panel to discuss their efforts to become dementia-friendly.
City/County planners and civic organization members, along with community, business, non-profit, and senior center leaders who want to be involved in a grassroots movement in the aging field are especially encouraged to attend.
Attendance is limited to a maximum of 200 participants. Online registration is required at www.wakeforestnc.gov/dementia-friendly-america-conference.aspx. The cost to attend is $20 and includes lunch and refreshments.
Nearly 60 percent of people with dementia live in their own communities and one in seven lives alone. Communities across the country are experiencing an urgent call to support people with dementia and their caregivers by becoming dementia-friendly.
A dementia-friendly community 1) raises awareness of and develops respect and inclusion for people with dementia, 2) has services and resources embedded in all areas of community to ensure meaningful access to community and promote quality of life, 3) supports and educates people with dementia, their care partners and families from diagnosis through disease progression, and 4) promotes meaningful engagement in community life.
For more information, contact Renaissance Centre Specialist Debra Horton at 919-435-9566 or dhorton@wakeforestnc.gov.
