Dementia Friendly Lehigh Valley
CONTACT:
dementialv.org
Dementia-Friendly Lehigh Valley is a regional volunteer coalition dedicated to raising awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, reducing stigma, and helping the Lehigh Valley become more accessible, inclusive, and supportive for people living with dementia, their families, and care partners.
The Lehigh Valley is recognized as part of the national Dementia Friendly America initiative. Through education, outreach, advocacy, partnerships, and shared resources, DFLV works to create a community that embraces people living with dementia with dignity, empowerment, and autonomy, helping them remain engaged and thrive in day-to-day community life.
Our Goals
• Raise awareness and reduce stigma through education, outreach, and community engagement
• Provide community members with skills to interact with and support people living with dementia
• Build and sustain commitments from stakeholders, partners, businesses, municipalities, and community leaders
• Connect individuals, families, and care partners with dementia-friendly resources and supports
• Educate health care, social service, first responder, faith, business, and community partners
• Promote brain health, healthy aging, safety, advocacy, and inclusive community practices
History
The framework for Dementia-Friendly Lehigh Valley began in 2013 as a committee convened to address the need and interest in the Lehigh Valley in a Dementia Friendly Community. A community needs assessment was conducted and showed that the Lehigh Valley already had a strong foundation of services, supports, and professional expertise in dementia care and supportive services.
The initiative grew through partnerships with health systems, aging-services professionals, the Lehigh Valley Alliance on Aging, the Chamber of Commerce, local legislators, first responders, Disability Friendly Lehigh Valley Coalition, Elder care providers, faith community leaders, and other community stakeholders.
In 2018, the Lehigh Valley Coalition made application to Dementia Friendly America to become Dementia Friendly Lehigh Valley. DFLV became part of United Way’s Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley initiative. In January 2023, Dementia-Friendly Lehigh Valley moved under its current umbrella organization, Humanitarian Social Innovations, who acts as DFLV’s fiscal sponsor.
What We Do
Dementia-Friendly Lehigh Valley is guided by an annual strategic plan organized through volunteer work groups and ad hoc committees that are focused on education, awareness, marketing, membership, fundraising, advocacy, and safety.
Current activities include:
• Offering Dementia Friends information sessions
• Providing professional and community education
• Conducting outreach to businesses, service organizations, municipalities, and community partners
• Supporting training faith leaders, first responders, health care professionals, and social service providers
• Promoting resources and support services for care partners
• Sharing a free dementia-friendly toolkit for the Lehigh Valley
• Publishing a quarterly newsletter
• Offering a user-friendly website: www.dementialv.org
• Participating in community events and awareness campaigns
• Recruiting and engaging volunteers
• Advancing advocacy, safety, brain health, and inclusive community practices
Community Leads: