You Want Things to be Better for People impacted by Dementia. So Do We.

In Calgary right now, someone with a great idea for improving dementia care is stuck, because they don't know how to get traction, who else is working on it, or they don’t believe that they alone can make a difference. Together with our partners from across the region, we developed  Dementia Network Calgary (the Network) to change that.

The Network isn't a program. We're not a clinic, a support group, or a service. We're something a little harder to put in a box: a partner, an accelerator, and an amplifier for anyone working to make life better for people impacted by dementia in the Calgary region.

Think of us as the connective tissue that's often missing in complex systems. 

A family member remembers how lost, scared, and overwhelmed they felt after their loved one's diagnosis, with no clear next steps, no one to guide them through what came next, no idea what supports were available to make life smoother. They have an idea for how that moment could feel different for the next family, but they don't know how to turn that idea into something that could change the experience for others. 

A frontline worker sees a gap in care and the difficult impact on those living with dementia, but has no clear way to raise it with the people who can act on it. 

A person living with dementia has experience that could reshape a policy, if only the right people were in the room to hear it and take it forward.

That's where we come in; bringing the right people together, supporting good ideas, and helping turn visions into actions. 

Connecting the People Who Have the Solutions

It might sound simple, but relationships are the foundation of everything we do. Real system change doesn't happen because one organization decides to fix things.

Change happens when the people living the challenge, the people delivering care, and the people with the power to change the system are all connected, trust each other, and are moving in the same direction.

That's why so much of our work looks like conversation: community gatherings, trust-filled relationship building, and creating space for people to share experiences that don't otherwise get heard. Those conversations are how we uncover what's really happening in people's lives, and they're what gives our advocacy weight.

The Power of an Idea

Here's what it looks like when one person's idea meets the right people.

Canada's first dementia-inclusive park started with a single question. Sarah Salus, a former member of the Alzheimer Calgary team looked at her colleagues at Parks Foundation Calgary, and asked, "Why doesn't Calgary have a dementia-inclusive park? We should create one." In conjunction with Parks Foundation Calgary, the Dementia Network Calgary brought together experts and community members to help design what is now the Martin Family Legacy Garden, located in Calgary's Dover neighbourhood, enjoyed today by people living with dementia, their caregivers, and many others in the community.

Calgary's Conversation Cafés started with one man who wanted more for his wife. Alan Rae and his wife Joan, who is living with dementia, attended a Conversation Café while in Palm Desert. It was a grassroots, volunteer-led gathering where people living with dementia and their care partners connect and support one another. When Alan returned to Calgary, he shared the idea at a community gathering hosted by the Network. As Alan put it, "There was a need for both care partners and people living with dementia to talk about what was going on in their lives, to share information, and to know they weren't alone on the dementia journey." The room agreed. The Network helped Alan connect with others who wanted to be involved and convened the initial meetings to get things off the ground. Alan took it from there, facilitating the first gatherings himself and eventually bringing on volunteers to help. Today, 17 Conversation Cafés meet regularly across Calgary and surrounding rural communities.

Neither of these started as a Network program. They started as one person's idea, and a belief that things could be better. Our role was to help make the connections that turned that belief into something real.

Our Focus Right Now

Over the next two to three years, our priorities are:

- Advocacy: Supporting the Alberta Task Force on Dementia to push for system-level change, and advocating directly to those with the authority to make it happen.

- System navigation: Making the overall care system easier to understand and use, so it's less confusing and more effective for the people relying on it.

- Support after a diagnosis: Designing a better experience for individuals and families in the days and months after a dementia diagnosis, when clarity and compassion matter most.

More priorities will take shape in the coming months, guided by what we hear from the community, and there will be multiple opportunities to get involved.

If Dementia Has Touched Your Life, You Are Part of The Network

This work touches anyone impacted by dementia; people living with a diagnosis, their families, caregivers, healthcare providers, everyone working within the system, and our community as a whole. And ultimately, it benefits the system itself, which becomes more efficient and effective when the people in it are connected and aligned.

Be Part of It

You don't need a title or a formal role to be part of the Network. If you have lived experience, work in the system, or simply care about making things better for people impacted by dementia, you're already part of it.

Getting involved can look like showing up to a gathering, sharing an idea, attending an event, volunteering, fundraising, or taking part in research. However you want to get involved, we want to hear your experience and your ideas, and to help you see yourself as an active member of something bigger than any one person.

There is real hope for what's possible. But it depends on people like you choosing to be part of it.

Ready to get involved? Visit the Events & Opportunities page on this site often to see upcoming events, ways to volunteer, and sign up for our Newsletter to see more on what's next for the Network.