SWAMPSCOTT — Community leaders and residents filled up Cafe Avellino on Tuesday afternoon for the official launch of the Swampscott For All Ages Committee’s Forget Me Not initiative.
Last December, the town’s Council on Aging received approximately $7,000 in grant funds from the Massachusetts Council on Aging to develop the initiative, in which organizations take active measures to better accommodate those affected by memory impairment.
Council On Aging Director Heidi Whear described the scope of the initiative, which is part of the town’s effort to be certified as an Age and Dementia Friendly community, to those in attendance.
“Age and Dementia Friendly comes out of a global initiative with the World Health Organization,” Whear said. “This particular initiative is for businesses to take a look at themselves and to see what they can do to make life a little easier for those of us (who are affected).”
Cafe Avellino owner Teresa Sirignano was trained by Dementia Friends Champion Lauren Shaw on how to accommodate people with memory impairment at her restaurant.
Sirignano described some of the methods she learned and is now implementing at Cafe Avellino, including providing a different, smaller menu, clearer directions to restrooms, lighting and noise control, and overall patience.
“I factor it in every day in my business now,” Sirignano said. “You can see it takes a toll on the caregiver, the loved one, not just the actual person living with Alzheimer’s… Eventually years down the line, people will know what this is and that they don’t have to worry.”
Lauren Shaw, a certified Dementia Friends Massachusetts champion, was responsible for training Sirignano and her staff this past week. Shaw said she decided to get involved with Dementia Friends Massachusetts when her husband, Ian, was diagnosed with early onset dementia.
“As a caregiver, I know it’s hard to go places,” Shaw said. “So to work out the hours and be a nice place for their particular condition, it’s really nice for the caregiver as well.”
Tuesday’s event was the first of three kick-offs at locations that have been certified in town. Whear emphasized that the initiative is not restricted to restaurants, and that staff at the Police Department, Swampscott Public Library, and Town Hall have also been trained.
