Dementia-Friendly Cities Prepare for an Aging Populace

A movement is spreading across the United States to establish dementia-friendly communities, with trainees learning to identify cognitive impairment and help people living with such impairment, reports CityLab . Everyone from business owners to police officers to bank tellers are taking part in the training. In 2014, Middleton, Wis., passed a resolution to become dementia-friendly, working with the Alzheimer's and Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin. The town trained employees, and more than 50 businesses joined the program soon after. The movement gained momentum the following year with the rollout of Dementia Friendly America at the White House Conference on Aging. Meanwhile, the Dementia Friends USA initiative involved nearly 40,000 volunteer "friends" receiving training to become more responsive to people with dementia. Funding for community programs varies, with a combination of public and private funds covering training and technical support costs. "No one has found a metric, let alone the resources to measure the movement's impact," said Splaine Consulting Principal Michael Splaine. In the end, he noted that impact is founded on raising awareness.