What is A Dementia-Friendly Community (DFC)?
It is a community where people are aware of this condition and understand how to make their neighbourhoods safe and easy to navigate in. It’s a place where persons with dementia and their caregivers can live as independently as possible, while feeling:
Safe
Comfortable
Loved
Respected
What Goes On In Such Communities?
In DFCs, business and services are respectful towards persons with dementia. There are also resources for early recognition and support for persons with dementia, so that they are identified early and care and support are provided to them. At the same time, seniors can reduce risk of dementia with active ageing activities.
Four Key Components
The DFC model is made of 4 Key Components:
1) Dementia Awareness
A network of Dementia Friends who are aware of the ABCD signs and symptoms of dementia and can serve as community lookouts for persons with dementia. Dementia Friends can build on their skills to become Dementia Champions to support seniors or persons with dementia by befriending or engaging them in activities.
2) Go-To Points (GTPs)
Go-To Points also serve as “safe return” points within the community, where you can bring persons with dementia who may appear lost and are unable to identify themselves or their way home. The staff at the GTPs will assist in reuniting them with their caregivers. These are places that also serve as resource centres to provide useful information and resources on dementia. You can find the list of GTPs here.
3) Technology
The Dementia Friends mobile application provides timely access to resources, useful information and events. Caregivers can post cases of their loved ones who lost their way and the Dementia Friends app will receive push notifications to help keep a lookout. You can support the persons with dementia and their caregivers by downloading the mobile application here.
4) Infrastructure
We can enhance our physical environment to make it accessible and safe for persons with dementia. Examples include converting steps to small ramps, railing installations, clearer signages with larger texts, and so on.
Our Dementia-Friendly Communities
The following organisations have provided their continuous support in building Dementia-Friendly Communities.
They have committed to:
- Ensuring their frontline staff are aware of dementia and know how to react towards persons with dementia in their line of work
- Supporting awareness and outreach efforts on dementia and building DFCs
- Putting in place certain processes to support persons with dementia and their caregivers
Dementia-Friendly Partners
- Building: Centre for Liveable Cities, Town Councils
- Arts & Leisure: National Library Board, National Heritage Board
- Banking: HSBC, DBS, POSB, Hong Leong Finance
- Retail: Guardian, Pure and Well
- Transport: SMRT, Grab
Community Care Partners
- Caregivers Alliance Limited
- AMKFSC Community Services
- Anglican Care Centre
- AWWA
- Brahm Centre
- Care Corner
- Charis ACE
- Club HEAL
- Dementia Singapore
- Fei Yue Community Services
- FILOS Community Services
- Montfort Care
- REACH community Services Society
- Jamiyah Nursing Home
- NTUC Health
- Peace-CONNECT Cluster Support
- Singapore Silver Ribbon
- St Hilda’s Community Services
- The Salvation Army – Peacehaven Bedok Day Centre
- Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities
- TRANS Family Services
