How your town can become a 'dementia-friendly' community
The late Kath Healy at her Ouyen home in 2020, with daughter Helen Healy. (Supplied: Helen Healy)
In the small Victorian town of Ouyen, Helen Healy's mum Kath spent years living independently with vascular dementia.
"It wasn't the kind [of dementia] that really changed her personality," Ms Healy said.
"She was always a really generous, funny and engaging kind of person."
Helen said while they had considered other options, her mum, who passed in 2022, had insisted on remaining at her home in Ouyen for as long as she could.
At first, Ms Healy, who lived in Mildura, 100kms away, said she worried what would happen if her mum got lost or forgot things while on her own.
But she soon realised the Ouyen community was on hand to help.
"It wasn't just the paid professionals who supported her," Ms Healy said.
"I would get phoned from somebody who owned the local supermarket or somebody in the bakery shop or the chemist going, 'Your mum's been going down the street popping into each shop asking if we've got her car keys because she's put them down somewhere.'
"I just thought that level of care from the community itself was just exemplary and probably leading the way for a community becoming a dementia-friendly place."
Ouyen residents yarn bombed a prominent jacaranda tree in town, to raise awareness of dementia. (Supplied: Mallee Track Health and Community Service)
Ouyen leading the way
Ouyen, a Mallee town 440 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, has a population of about 1,100.
It is well known for its grain production and sheep farming, but also proudly labels itself as "dementia friendly".
Dementia Australia has been leading a push to reduce stigma and increase support for people living with the disease, through its Dementia-Friendly Communities initiative.
The program aims to make towns a "place where people living with dementia, their families, community members and businesses create spaces that are respectful, supportive and empowering".
Mallee Track Health and Community Service's Vanessa Morrish said a lot had changed in Ouyen since she began working with local dementia clients 18 years ago.
"I have personally noticed a lot of change with, not only awareness of the disease, but also people having a better understanding and [being] happy to have open conversations with people living with dementia and supporting the carers, something that was rarely seen before," she said.
Vanessa Morrish says the Ouyen community is proud to be considered "dementia friendly". (Picture: Mallee Track Health and Community Service)
Ms Morrish said becoming dementia friendly was a "game changer" for the small community, which had the power to make a "big difference" in the lives of others.
"With the growth of dementia in our communities, I think every town that should be on board to help those living with dementia feel safer and included," she said.
"It's something that is not going away."
Mallee Track Health and Community Service hosts educational events every year during Dementia Action Week, aiming to further challenge the stigma and inspire action from all corners of the community.
During this year's events, Ouyen school students raised awareness by creating more than 40 purple wooden trees, which were each decorated by a local business, and community members knitted and crocheted a covering for a jacaranda tree on the main street.
School students from Ouyen helped create wooden trees for dementia awareness. (Supplied: Mallee Track Health and Community Service)
The service also hosts regular intergenerational activities, helping children feel comfortable, and aware of those living with dementia, from an early age.
Ms Morrish said all the initiatives were about "changing the way we think, speak and act".
"It's about learning how to support someone who is struggling and discovering how we as a community can make a difference, not just for those living with dementia, but also for their carers and families."
"Early education and first-hand experiences is the key."
Ms Morrish said there had been an overwhelming response from the community and reiterated that any town could be like Ouyen.
"You don't need big money to create a dementia-friendly town, you just need big hearts."
What makes a community dementia friendly?
According to Dementia Australia, two-thirds of the estimated 433,300 Australians with dementia resided in communities that could better support their ability to live independently.
To improve support, Dementia Australia's three key factors are education, collaboration with people living with dementia and advocating for change.
Dementia Australia executive director of services, engagement and research Kaele Stokes said including people living with dementia in the community was one of the most important aspects of improving a town's status.
Kaele Stokes says being dementia friendly is about doing a range of things to increase inclusivity and awareness. (Supplied: Dementia Australia)
Dementia Australia also provides a checklist of community recommendations:
- Raise awareness: When people learn about dementia and hear the voices of people living with dementia, discrimination and stigma in the community can be reduced.
- Foster inclusion: Supporting people living with dementia to feel included and able to participate helps them stay as active as they can in the community.
- Encourage collaboration: When businesses, organisations and individuals collaborate with people living with dementia, everyone can work together to achieve change.
- Empower communities: Awareness, inclusion and true collaboration, supported by the Dementia-Friendly Communities program, gives communities the power to build dementia-friendly communities where everyone benefits.