Four Dementia Safe Villages Added This Year (Haengun-dong, Inheon-dong, Sinsa-dong, Daehak-dong)
Full Effort to Create Dementia-Friendly Environments Including Dementia Safe Playgrounds and Senior Centers
‘Aging in place’ refers to elderly people spending their remaining years without leaving the homes or communities where they have lived. As the aging population intensifies worldwide, this is a concept worth deeply considering within local communities.
In Gwanak-gu (District Mayor Park Junhee), approximately 116,000 residents aged 60 and over live. Among them, an estimated 7,700 are dementia patients. As the aging phenomenon deepens, the number of dementia patients is also expected to increase along with the elderly population.
Accordingly, the district is making every effort this year to expand the ‘Dementia Safe Villages’ and create dementia-friendly environments.
‘Dementia Safe Villages’ are communities where dementia patients and their families can live without fear of dementia, together with neighbors, by creating a dementia-friendly environment for all local residents.
Since 2018 until last year, the district selected and operated a total of nine neighborhoods as Dementia Safe Villages, considering factors such as the elderly population, number of dementia patients, and residents’ needs. This year, four additional neighborhoods (Haengun-dong, Inheon-dong, Sinsa-dong, and Daehak-dong) were selected, bringing the total number of Dementia Safe Villages in Gwanak-gu to 13.
Dementia Safe Villages help establish a systematic foundation for dementia management, from prevention to care. They also provide active and universal services tailored to the characteristics of each neighborhood through meetings with local community centers.
This year, the district plans to build a dense dementia safety net by operating ▲ Dementia Safe Stores ▲ Dementia Overcoming Leading Organizations ▲ Memory Friends (Dementia Partners) together with local residents who understand the circumstances of their neighborhoods well.
The district will also operate a game-type ‘Dementia Safe Noriter (老利攄)’ outdoors in the four newly designated Dementia Safe Villages, where neighborhood residents frequently gather. At ‘Dementia Safe Noriter (老利攄),’ anyone can easily and enjoyably experience dementia prevention education.
Last year, the district operated ‘Dementia Safe Noriter (老利攄)’ as a specialized project and won the ‘Grand Prize’ at the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Excellent Case Competition, ranking first among 256 dementia safety centers nationwide.
Furthermore, since February this year, the district has also begun full-scale efforts to designate over 110 senior centers in the area as ‘Dementia Safe Senior Centers.’
As part of raising awareness to help elderly users understand and empathize with dementia patients and their families, Memory Friend (Dementia Partner) education is being conducted. By becoming Memory Friends, residents will help ensure that they can live in their neighborhoods without worry about dementia.
Additionally, the district plans to continue supporting seniors by expanding free early screening for high-risk individuals, providing ongoing dementia prevention information, and helping them better understand and manage dementia.
District Mayor Park Junhee said, “We are expanding the operation of Dementia Safe Villages to create a community where dementia patients and their families can live together.” He added, “We will do our best to make Gwanak-gu a happy community for all residents by fostering positive awareness of dementia through Dementia Safe Villages.”
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