B.C. municipalities ask residents with dementia for advice creating dementia-friendly cities

Municipalities across B.C. are grappling with the question of how to make communities more dementia-friendly and going straight to those with lived experience for answers.

Mario Gregorio, who lives in Burnaby, was diagnosed with vascular dementia one year into his retirement.

He's one of roughly 2,400 people in Burnabywho are living with dementia, a number that is expected to double over the next two decades.

"I had an opportunity to walk with the engineers, city planners, park board officials and some of the social workers," Gregorio said.

"We pointed out to them some amenities that can be improved to make it easier for seniors and people with dementia."

That means making changes like installing more clear,obvious signage to help people with cognitive impairment get around without becoming lost, increasing the physical accessibility of features like sidewalks and park benchesand training city staff.

City-led action plans

In B.C., there are roughly 70,000 people living with dementia and about 60 per cent of them continue to live on their own or with a caregiver.

Gregorio is part of a community advisory group that's helping municipalities across the Lower Mainland come up with action plans and is looking to implement a further reaching strategy across the province and country.

"I thought I'd be retiring and in a rocking chair but I got involved with the Alzheimer Society of Canada.It's quite exciting actually," Gregorio told Stephen Quinn, the host of CBC's The Early Edition.

Municipalities such as New Westminster, Richmond, the City of North Vancouver and Burnaby have all come up with action plans.

Lived experience

Gregorio says it's crucial for people like him to be involved in changing stereotypes about dementia and making communities more accessible.

"Let the people who'll be using the facilities be there and tell you about their experience," he said. "That helps a lot in redesigning facilities or some of the amenities that we have in our communities."

Heather Cowie, the provincial co-ordinator for the Alzheimer Society of B.C.'s Dementia-Friendly Communities initiative, said that both an infrastructure and societal change is needed.

"We are seeing a lot of strides," Cowie said. "We're working with 16 different municipalities across the province in different ways, but I think there is always need for more awareness and education."

With files from The Early Edition.

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