With the aging of the population throughout the world, eldercare is one of the major issues for us to consider. Accompanying this trend is the rapid increase in the number of dementia patients. According to a study published in the Alzheimer’s Disease Journal, over the past decade the number of people with dementia has exploded worldwide, reaching approximately 100,000 people today. Furthermore, the number is expected to double by 2050.

Against this backdrop, “dementia villages” or “micro-towns” for the elderly are being established all over the world.

Hogewijk in the suburbs of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is one such example, a “village” of dementia facilities where people with dementia can live out their daily lives. The facility functions as a village with restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, theaters, and even a brick-built residential area where residents can live their own life there. There are also restaurants and other facilities that can be used by the residents’ families and the general public, so the facility is not segregated as a dementia facility, but is a great feature that allows interaction with the general public and their families. And the people of this entire town support the daily lives of dementia patients. In Hoogewijk, there are more doctors, nurses, and other staff than residents, and they are integrated into the daily lives of the residents. In addition, supermarket clerks are also trained, and the entire town is ready to support the residents.

Here, even those suffering from dementia are not isolated from their daily lives, but are connected to the community.

This concept of supporting patients as a community is likely to be the key to the future, not only for the elderly but also for minorities with any kind of problems. In this newsletter, we would like to focus on “care by community.

In the United States, where people from diverse backgrounds live, mental health communities are also fragmented. As participants share their stress and anxiety with others in similar circumstances, they also have more opportunities to become supportive themselves.

The Fairfield Area Public Library, an American library, provides a space for parents with small children to concentrate on their work. It is called a “Work and Play Station,” with a circle for children to play next to a work table for adults. In the midst of the spread of remote work, the library supports people who are balancing work and childcare.

The On A Roll Wheelchair Program provides wheelchairs and other mobility devices to low-income New Yorkers with physical disabilities to help them live independently. The program is unique in that counseling by licensed occupational and physical therapists enables them to be provided with appropriate equipment. The goal of the program is to build a trusting relationship with the physically disabled through counseling, as well as to make more people aware of their physical disabilities, thereby building a wider community that can support them in the long term.

Sumida Multicultural Community (SMC) is a non-profit organization established in Sumida City in August 2008 with the aim of creating a local community where people can learn from and help each other regardless of nationality, age, or gender through community activities and cultural exchange. The organization was founded in August 2008 with the aim of creating a local community where people of different nationalities, ages, and genders can learn from and help each other through activities and cultural exchange. 4.3% of Sumida Ward residents are foreign nationals, and the organization was established in response to their requests for a place to engage in multicultural exchange. According to Ms. Kariya, the executive director of the organization, Sumida Ward is a place where people are very close to each other, and they would like to place importance on increasing daily exchanges that form the basis of neighborhood relationships.