The Alzheimer Society of Grey-Bruce is helping local victims by offering a new Finding Your Way program.
The province provided $15,000 to the local chapter to help families, caregivers and communities recognize the risks of dementia, and to quickly locate missing people with dementia.
Each year, approximately 125,000 Ontarians living with dementia are at risk of wandering and going missing.
Finding Your Way is a multicultural wandering prevention program, which provides practical tools and advice for individuals, caregivers and the community. That helps people to recognize and reduce the risk of someone with dementia wandering and going missing while supporting a quick, safe return should an incident occur.
Throughout the year, staff will also conduct education for first responders, health care professionals and the general public.
Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker visited the Alzheimer Society Grey-Bruce to learn more about Finding Your Way program and how it is helping local seniors.
“Every minute counts when a senior goes missing to help keep them safe. Our government is committed to helping local seniors with dementia stay safe,” said Walker. “We are protecting what matters most to help seniors live independently in their communities.”
“We’ll be holding a Changing Melodies convention this spring. It will be centred on Finding Your Way for as well,” said Alzheimer Society Grey-Bruce Executive Director Stephen Musehl.
“This funding will go a long way in helping to keep seniors living in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound safe, especially given an estimated 240,000 seniors in Ontario are living with dementia,” said Raymond Cho, Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. “This is another example of how our government is putting seniors and their families first by making it easier to find our missing loved ones faster.”
The province is putting their safety first by providing nearly $600,000 Alzheimer Society of Ontario to deliver the Finding Your Way program.