The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative is pleased to promote the following upcoming events and opportunities to help create inclusive age- and dementia friendly communities.

• LGBT Elders in an Ever-Changing World – June 25th

A virtual one-day conference, on its tenth anniversary, will focus on interdisciplinary practice and community engagement for people working with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender older adults and caregivers.

Consumers who may be looking for alternative resources, services or community programs to help support their individual aging or caregiving needs are also invited to attend.

More details and registration information is available here.

• Alzheimer’s Association Family Conference – May 14, 15

Join the Alzheimer’s Association for a free, virtual conference for those living with Alzheimer’s and dementia and their families. Featuring several notable guest speakers and sessions such as Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia, Effective Communications Strategies, and Coping with Dementia-Related Behaviors.

More information is available here and the Alzheimer’s Association of MA/NH has a list of educational programs available here to support caregivers and people living with dementia.

• Massachusetts Senior Medicare Patrol Conference:

This year’s Massachusetts Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Conference will feature Dr. Don Berwick as keynote speaker and will highlight and explore the vital importance of engaging and including diverse perspectives and voices in the healthcare system. Only through effective engagement and inclusion can equitable and quality healthcare be achieved. The mission of the MA SMP Program is to raise awareness about the importance of engaging elders, family members, caregivers and professionals in preventing healthcare errors, fraud and abuse to contain healthcare costs.

Registration  for this virtual conference is available here (costs vary depending on registration type).

• Dementia Friends Champion Training

Dementia Friends is a global public awareness program that helps everyone in a community to learn a little about dementia and how it affects people, and the simple things that we can all do to make a difference. To learn more, watch this 2-minute video.

This training is free and open to the public. During this training, you will take part in a Dementia Friends information session, and be counted as a part of the growing number of “Dementia Friends” worldwide. This training will also equip you with the knowledge and materials needed to become a volunteer “Champion,” which means that you will be able to facilitate your own virtual or in-person Dementia Friends Information Session with members of your community.

The training will be held in English. However, Dementia Friends Massachusetts materials are available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole and Russian, for those who are multilingual and would like to lead an information session in one of these languages.

The training will be held on Zoom. Please register by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcvf-iqrz4vEtG32HznLJLZMMvA-qikzIA6  by Friday, May 7. You will receive an automated confirmation message back with your unique Zoom link to join the meeting. Please check your junk folder if you don’t receive it.

Please contact Beth Soltzberg at bsoltzberg@jfcsboston.org with any questions.