It Takes a Village

I created Canada’s first dementia-centric village. It gives every resident a life beyond their diagnosis

- Elroy Jespersen

GROWING UP IN ALBERTA, I didn’t exactly have a normal home life. My parents ran a foster-care facility outside of Wetaskiwin that provided a loving home for kids who had experienced difficult childhoods. There were often 30 to 50 kids living with us at a time. It was an unconventional setup, but it taught me to value connection.

I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in community recreation in 1975, then worked for several years in the City of Richmond’s recreation department. In 1989, I became the general manager for a local residence operated by a senior-living company called Verve. Initially, I managed Verve’s existing seniors’ homes, and later, I helped create new ones.

I wanted residents to feel a sense of belonging, so I designed solo living units with shared spaces where people could interact and form relationships. Still, we struggled to provide an enriching environment for residents living with dementia. The standard approach was to designate a wing or floor of a building to dementia patients, with locked doors on either end. When the doors wouldn’t open, they would get frustrated. (I know I’d panic if I couldn’t move about freely—wouldn’t anyone?) Nowadays, dementia wards have doors that open into a fenced-off courtyard, but people still feel trapped. The focus of assisted-living facilities was always keeping residents safe; their freedom took a back seat. That didn’t sit right with me. Life should be about more than just safety.