Supportive Services Team’s “Dementia Support Corner”
Whether you’re a caregiver or a person living with dementia, creating a dementia friendly community is important for your physical and mental wellbeing. In this blog, we will talk with Alzheimer’s San Diego Dementia Care Coach Ilene Batalla, MSW on the benefits of dementia friendly communities and how to build yours.
What are Dementia Friendly Communities?
According to Dementia Care Coach Ilene, a dementia friendly community is a network of kind, accepting, aware, and knowledgeable people that show compassion to you and others impacted by dementia. Dementia friendly communities are important for your wellbeing as a caregiver or person living with dementia because they are a space where you can feel safe, supported, and uplifted.
We often hear the phrase “it takes a village” when referring to caring for someone, and this sentiment applies to caring for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Having kind and understanding people to socialize, sympathize, share ideas, and more can improve the wellbeing of caregivers and people living with dementia.
How to Build a Dementia Friendly Community
One of the best ways you can create a dementia friendly community is proactive outreach. Ilene suggests starting with people you are already comfortable with (friends and family) and inviting them to become more aware of what dementia is and how they can help you. Many people don’t know how to interact with a person living with dementia. It usually isn’t an unwillingness, but rather an unfamiliarity.
Alzheimer’s San Diego has a large library of resources for you to send to your friends, family, and other community members to become more familiar with the disease. Check out these helpful tip sheets and short videos explaining communication strategies and common behaviors with dementia. Ilene also encourages you to share your own experiences and feelings with others, if you feel comfortable doing so.
If you feel nervous or uncomfortable at the idea of inviting people to learn more about dementia and join your community, Ilene and her team are available to offer personalized suggestions and guidance. Call Alzheimer’s San Diego today at 858.492.4400 and speak to a compassionate Dementia Care Coach for personalized guidance.
Joining a Dementia Friendly Community
The good news is, you don’t have to start from scratch! Alzheimer’s San Diego hosts many different types of dementia friendly spaces for caregivers and people living with dementia to socialize and gain support from people in the community. Ilene recommends you check out the free programs below offered by Alzheimer’s San Diego:
- Social Activities and Outings: People living with dementia and their care partners can engage in social activities that provide social engagement with others, brain-stimulating activities, physical exercise, and opportunities to connect with and learn from their community through fun outings.
- Support Groups: Offered in-person and virtually via Zoom, care partners of all backgrounds have a safe space to share openly about their experiences, express emotions, connect with others, and feel understood by their peers.
- ALZ Ally: People living alone with memory loss in San Diego County can sign up for friendly visits, phone calls, and rides from trained compassionate volunteers.
As one client shares about why they love the Social Activities and Outings program at Alzheimer’s San Diego, “I get to connect with people who truly understand what I am going through. And now today, I get to spend time with them at a museum and we can just be us, enjoying time with each other, and not focusing so much on this disease.”
For more information, reach out to us today at 858.492.4400.
We are Here to Help You Navigate Dementia
Alzheimer’s San Diego’s team of compassionate Dementia Care Coaches can help you learn more about how to create a dementia friendly community to best fit your needs. Give our Dementia Care Coaches a call today at 858.492.4400 and get personalized dementia support for your unique situation. Also check out our free education classes, social activities, caregiver support groups, & more. Services are also available in Spanish.
Our “Dementia Support Corner” series is an opportunity for our Supportive Services to provide insight that can help people impacted by dementia.
By Heidi Emmenegger
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Posted on April 20th, 2026
