Naperville seeking 'Dementia Friendly' status

A new group in Naperville is looking for ways to support the estimated 30,000 DuPage County residents 65 and older who are affected by Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

The Dementia Friendly Naperville advisory council held its first meeting last week to begin uniting resources to rally around people with dementia and those who care for them. The group plans to seek recognition sometime next year through the Dementia Friendly America organization, which helps communities foster the ability to care for people with the mind-altering disease.

The advisory council aims to work with the city's police and fire departments, the park district, library, retailers, restaurants, Edward Hospital and others to help those affected cope with memory loss, cognitive decline and decreased functional abilities, said Jim Hill, co-chairman of the Naperville senior task force and a leader of the Dementia Friendly effort.

The mental changes that come with dementia affect a family's finances, employment, day-to-day living and stress level, said Mary Swenson of Naperville, who lost her husband, Tom, after he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at age 60. But the "healing power of community" can be a major help, she said. And communities can provide that healing power.

A Dementia Friendly place is somewhere that is "informed, safe and respectful of individuals with the disease, their families and caregivers and provides supportive options that foster quality of life," Dementia Friendly America says on its website.

Illinois became a Dementia Friendly state in 2017, said Susan Frick, a social worker with the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago.

Eight communities across the state also have earned the designation: the Elgin area, Evanston, Glencoe, Grayslake, Kankakee, North Chicago/Lake County, Oswego and River Forest. Frick said Oak Park and Westmont also are working toward Dementia Friendly recognition.

Frick is helping many of these communities, including Naperville, through the Illinois Cognitive Resource Network. She said becoming more open to discussing dementia and its affects is much of the work.

"A lot of what I've seen towns doing is just helping to have the conversation and to provide education, provide ways to know the resources more," Frick said. "It's still an illness that people aren't comfortable with. There's a lot of loneliness that comes from living with Alzheimer's and dementia for both the person living with it and for the family members. I think this program is looking to break down that loneliness and that stigma."

Swenson said she experienced isolation and sadness as she cared for Tom.

"Tom was in a hospital bed in our house and required constant caregiving," she said.

She felt "stuck in the house," but not forgotten because of many communities that supported her.

There was the Rush Alzheimer's community, which Swenson said mentored her and Tom through the "Without Warning" support group for people with early-onset forms of the disease. There was the Darien Elementary District 61 community, where former co-workers of the Swensons, who both worked in the district, collected donations on a GoFundMe page and set up a meal delivery service.

Swenson said she also felt supported by the Naperville community, as the city's Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator would visit from time to time and the late Mayor Emeritus George Pradel gave Tom a proclamation and one of his business cards, which jokingly became Tom's "get out of jail free card" around town.

Even Swenson's workout community at Downsize Fitness was part of her support network, she said, because the gym allowed her to work off some of the stress while Tom could sit nearby.

These kinds of supports illustrate ways various segments of communities can make life a little easier for those battling the affects of dementia, she said.

"This will be a very nice thing," Swenson said about the Dementia Friendly designation. "Naperville's already a great place to live, and I just figure it's going to be even better with these kind of efforts made."

Hill said before seeking official designation, the advisory council plans to put some concrete initiatives in place. Its next meeting is set for Feb. 19.