Wilbraham Senior Center, which hosts a memory café for those with dementia.
Reminder Publishing file photo
WILBRAHAM — Wilbraham is a friendly place for those living with dementia and their caregivers. The Council on Aging and a group of volunteers have recently completed work required to be certified as a “dementia friendly” community by the Massachusetts Councils on Aging’s Dementia Friendly Massachusetts initiative. The town will receive a certificate at the Wilbraham Senior Center on July 7.
Wilbraham Council on Aging Social Services Coordinator Barbara Harrington said being a dementia-friendly community is about making the town more inclusive of people with dementia and erasing the stigma around cognitive decline by educating the public.
According to the 2024 federal census, there are about 3,300 people age 65 and older in Wilbraham. Data from the Alzheimer’s Association shows the 11.3% of those over age 65 in Massachusetts have some form of dementia.
Beginning in fall 2023, a small group of residents began working with the Alzheimer’s Association and the Council on Aging to create a welcoming, non-judgmental community for people with dementia. The group has hosted several educational events, including those at the Wilbraham Public Library, Senior Center and Soule Road School, where volunteers read a book about dementia to students.
Harrington and Katie Krupka, a Wilbraham resident and director of placement and aging services with Assisted Living Locators, were trained by the Alzheimer’s Association on how to identify someone who may have dementia and how to interact with them in a way that is inclusive. The Council on Aging then partnered with local businesses to train their employees in the same practices.
One place that is welcoming to those with dementia is the Senior Center’s memory café. Once a month, people can “come to a place and not be judged,” Harrington said. Instead, people experiencing memory loss and cognitive decline can spend time with others in similar situations. Harrington said it began in September 2024 and since then, the group has become “very close,” Harrington said.
Harrington said the volunteer committee plans to start a dementia caregivers support group and continue organizing events and educational opportunities for the public. Krupka said the group may pursue an age-friendly certification. She said that while dementia friendly programs target how people interact with those who have dementia, age friendly programs take a more holistic view of the town. They may include housing, transportation and other areas of improvement that make it easier to age in place.
