Welcome to Dementia Friendly Indiana Communities, where each community is unique in it’s own way. Take a moment to look at why we believe building our communities is so important. You can find links to our active communities on this page and learn about what these Indiana communities are doing to change, support and foster friendships when our families find themselves faced with dementia.
What is a friend?
Did you know that loneliness presents a greater risk to our health than smoking and obesity? Our culture has unintentionally left many of us with less connections and relationships as we have worked to become more independent with our jobs and careers. Many of us move away from families and friends as we pursue our careers or our life circumstances may change. Many Americans are also less likely to be married or have children and or are widowed, leaving some of us aging alone without many connections. Others are too busy to check on aging neighbors. So it is no surprise that many of us report that we feel lonely.
So we should we consider being a friend to someone, because the feeling is reciprocated and is good for all of us. There is a whole bunch of good chemical releases and synapses formed in our brains when we connect! Giving us all a good brain health boost!
So, what does it mean to be a friend to your community and those who are affected by dementia?
There a many different types of friends, some are here for a while and move on, some stay around for life and some are simply social connections.
We can be any of these types of friends individually and dementia friendly communities encourages all of them! When a community as a whole becomes aware of the people who live there and when individuals or organizations know how to react to someone who is having brain change, it becomes a friendly and supportive community.
Our movement towards understanding that people who live with dementia still have rights and despite the disease, can live a good and active life, has sparked hope for communities all over Indiana! Finding a group of people committed to advocating for others or themselves through awareness and compassion shifts the focus from the disease to the person. Dementia does not discriminate, so we all could experience dementia someday, whether it is ourselves or through someone we know and love. So why not create a community that is capable of fostering good friendships as we age?
I hope what you read here today on this site inspires you to become a friend. Start by learning about these efforts through a Dementia Friends Session. Find others in your communities that also would like to be a friend or connect with the Communities listed below if your community has already started gathering to make a change.
Our Mission
Dementia Friendly Indiana Communities mission is first; to see the person not the disease. Releasing the stigma and misconception of dementia that has a grip on the world; one person at a time; one message at a time; through building awareness, inclusion, advocacy, education and filling the gaps with action, passion and creativity in every space in the beautiful state of Indiana.
Amanda Oporta, Dementia Friendly Indiana State Lead Liaison has been instrumental in building and supporting the state's Dementia Friendly initiatives. In 2017, she was one of the founders of the Bloomington, IN chapter, the state's first Dementia Friendly community. Amanda currently works for IU Health Alzheimer's and Dementia Resource Services, where she brings her expertise and passion for creating communities that are welcoming and supportive of people living with dementia. Her leadership and dedication have been key in advancing the mission of Dementia Friendly Indiana.
In 2015 Dementia Friendly America was established
2016 efforts to reach out to businesses started in Indiana through Alzheimer’s Friendly cafes that developed into Dementia Friendly Businesses.
2017 was an explosion in Indiana with Bloomington becoming the first DF community in Indiana and CICOA launching Dementia Friends Indiana!
2017 the first conference was held and open to the community to address the stigma and gaps in care we see related to dementia and a State Liaison was established.
2018 GWEP initiatives were led by USI that addressed the workforce as well as included development of more DF communities in Southern Indiana
2018 the Bloomington Community came together to create a program offered in Hoosier Hills Career Center that later received grants and spread across the southern Indiana career centers and later won the Leading Light Award. The programs continue to teach High School students about dementia in professional care today.
What We’ve Achieved
2019 The Bloomington Community passed the torch to Lawrence County and the DF communities began to spread and have not stopped.
2020 COVID, but we still continued to develop communities despite the pandemic….
2021, 4 more communities developed under the GWEP initiatives in Southern Indiana and the first statewide conference was held.
2022 DF Indiana partnered with the Dementia Action Alliance and brought a National conference of like-minded developments and advocacy to Indianapolis!
2022 DFIC groups and the Alzheimer’s Association work toward being a voice at the statehouse.
2023 Groups all across the state began to work on Indiana’s unique Dementia Strategic Plan to bring better dementia awareness to the state as well as better access to resources that include dementia friendly and capable ideas.
2024 Our work is not done, we continue the efforts!
….And we hope you join us!