Imagine sometimes waking up and not knowing where you are; who you are; or who these people claiming to be your loved ones are. Not remembering how to do something you've done all your life. Not remembering that you've put something in the stove 8 hours ago. Must be tough I recon.
It's figured that around 10% of people 65 and older are subject to some degree of dementia. I can only imagine how hard and frustrating life would be if you get more severely impacted. Often times you're restrained to one building or room. But what if that wasn't the only way?
Hogeweyk, based in the Netherlands, is the name of the first ever open living area specifically tailored for people living with dementia. Canada has taken note and is set to open it's own version sometime in 2019. Funnily enough the name for it will be 'The Village'. Hopefully it runs a little better than the one in the movie of the same title.
As you can see, it will be designed to allow the population to roam about freely all while being fenced in as to keep people from wandering off. Apparently people will be free to go for walks, grab a coffee, get a haircut, watch movies, and go shopping. Sounds like a pretty good way of allowing people with dementia to continue living in a manner which lets them maintain some basic freedoms.
'The Village' will be home to 78 patients and 72 employees and be built on 5 acres in Langley, B.C. , Canada. Unfortunately the cost to stay there looks to range between $6000 to $7500 CAD a month. That's pretty steep! We'll see if some sort of subsidy will be arranged or not. A pretty neat idea nonetheless.
Source: The National Post