ST PAUL, Minn. — A program that seeks to change how communities “think, act, and talk about dementia” has reached a new milestone in Minnesota.

The state is now home to 30,000 (and counting) “ Dementia Friends .”

It marks an extraordinary effort by local advocates and organizers who say the program benefits the greater community and, of course, those living with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia.

“It’s a relationship. It’s caring. And I think people genuinely want to do and help people. And this gives them the tools they need,” said Sister Margaret Belanger, a Sister of St. Joseph and resident at Carondelet Village who was part of the original group that brought the Dementia Friends curriculum from England to the United States in 2014.

“It was the first Dementia Friends pro

See Full Page