Thursday, March 10, 2016
Ontario Seniors' Secretariat
Ontario Improving Alzheimer's Support Services
More Service Providers to Receive Training in Wandering Prevention
Ontario is investing $761,500 in the Alzheimer Society of Ontario's Finding Your Way program to help improve training and reach more people who come into contact with persons affected by dementia.
The Finding Your Way program is a multicultural safety campaign that helps people with dementia stay safe and active, while helping to prevent the risk of wandering and going missing. The program's training services will be enhanced this year to include first-responders as well as supportive housing and retirement homes staff.
The funding will also help the Alzheimer Society of Ontario:
- Launch an enhanced website
- Deliver new eLearning seminars and town halls
- Increase volunteer recruitment activities on campuses and in the private sector
- Distribute 20,000 new brochures.
Investing in services and supports to help keep seniors safe is part of the government's plan to build stronger and healthier communities.
Quick Facts:
- Indira Naidoo-Harris, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, is conducting consultations on dementia care to inform a comprehensive strategy for people living with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Ontarians interested in submitting ideas and sharing experiences can do so at: dementiastrategy@ontario.ca.
- By 2020, nearly 250,000 seniors in Ontario will be living with some form of dementia.
- Three out of five people with dementia go missing. There is greater risk of injury, even death, for those missing for more than 24 hours.
- Ontario has invested more than $2.8 million in funding to the Finding Your Way program.
- The Finding Your Way program safety kit is available in 12 languages: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Tagalog, Arabic, Urdu and Tamil.
Additional Resources:
Quotes:
"These improvements to the Finding Your Way program will help reach more people and provide important information to protect those with dementia. Our communities have an important role to play in helping keep people with dementia safe, and this funding will help the Alzheimer Society of Ontario to deliver these resources to even more Ontarians."
— Mario Sergio, Minister Responsible for Seniors Affairs
"This program is the result of an extraordinary network of committed people. This year, since we know that 95 per cent of missing incidents happen with seniors who still live at home, the expansion into educating community workers who have direct contact with people with dementia, their families and caregivers makes sense. We appreciate the support of the Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat and First Responder groups to help us develop materials that will educate Emergency Service Workers, retirement home and supportive housing staff about the risks of going missing for people with dementia and how to respond to missing incidents when they do occur."
— Chris Dennis, CEO, Alzheimer Society of Ontario
Media Contacts:
Celeste Bottero
Minister’s Office
416-326-1689
Laura Sylvis
Communications Branch
416-314-7010
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