[Article] Trail Blazing Dementia Inclusion

This six-part series highlights communities across Canada who participated in the Compassionate Dementia-Inclusive Communities (CDIC) Project. Supported by a Health Canada contribution, this initiative aims to raise awareness of dementia and reduce stigma, fostering more accepting and inclusive communities where people with lived experience can enjoy a higher quality of life. Each story explores one of the six participating communities (from BC to Newfoundland), highlighting how its distinct sociocultural and geographic context shaped its approach to fostering compassion and inclusion. 

When communities come together around a shared purpose, meaningful change becomes possible. In Trail, BC, it started with the Greater Trail Hospice, Trail FAIR’s Better at Home Program, and Columbia Seniors Wellness joining forces with people living with dementia, care partners, healthcare providers, volunteers, and community members to explore what a more dementia-inclusive community could look like. They formed an advisory committee, identified their community’s strengths and needs via the CDIC Index Survey, thought deeply about where there was room for growth, and developed initiatives that reflected the community's unique identity and potential.

One of the partnership's most memorable achievements, An Evening to Remember, welcomed more than 80 community members for an evening of learning, laughter, and conversation. Rather than relying on traditional presentations, the team invited guests to engage with dementia in meaningful ways.

A Memory Booth featuring historical artifacts sparked storytelling and reminiscence, while a sensory-loss simulation encouraged guests to reflect on the everyday challenges people living with dementia experience. “People walked away with such an enlightened perspective of the magnitude of what it must be like for people,” said a team co-lead. Interactive games challenged common misconceptions and sparked conversations that continued throughout the evening as well. By embedding education in a welcoming, social atmosphere, the event made learning engaging, accessible, and enjoyable. “People assume that once a diagnosis is made, somebody’s life is over,” said another team co-lead, “and it’s about looking for what people can do rather than what they can’t.”

The Trail team also created practical tools to improve experiences on a more regular basis. Working alongside members of the advisory committee, they developed the What I Need to Thrive form—a resource communicating important information about an individual's preferences, communication needs, routines, and potential triggers, helping healthcare providers deliver more person-centred care in emergency situations, reducing stress for both patients and families.

The partnership's impact extended well beyond these signature initiatives. Team members attended community fairs and healthy aging events, offered dementia education to caregivers, collaborated with healthcare providers, shared information through local media, and met with people living with dementia and care partners to better understand their experiences. These conversations ensured every initiative remained grounded in the voices of the people the project was designed to support, as a project co-lead voiced, “The collaboration was awesome- better than I ever thought. Sometimes you’d think, how will these organizations really fit together… but then getting into it, you know, dementia is everywhere, so it fits anywhere.”

Volunteers were another cornerstone of the project's success. Twelve community members completed internationally recognized Nav-CARE training and supported 29 people living with dementia and their care partners. Others volunteered at awareness events and community activities.

Like the other five communities participating in the CDIC project, Trail demonstrated that creating a more dementia-inclusive community isn’t just up to one organization. It’s the result of neighbours, volunteers, healthcare providers, community organizations, and people with lived experience working together. Through creativity, collaboration, and a willingness to listen, the Trail partnership strengthened community connections, increased understanding of dementia, and helped build a community where people living with dementia can continue to participate, belong, and thrive.

Next month, we’ll explore the groundbreaking work of a team in St. John’s Newfoundland and the impact it’s had creating pathways between primary care and community services to better support persons living with dementia and care partners.