Carleton University and Carefor Home and Community Services celebrated Alzheimer’s Awareness Month on Jan. 21 with the launch of a new joint program.
Their new program, The Club, is the first-ever to be implemented in Ottawa, and is geared towards those living with young-onset dementia.
The Club aims to help individuals affected by the condition through exercise, using Carleton’s athletics facilities as a way to stay active and come together as a group.
According to Health Canada, young-onset dementia is rare, only affecting 1,600 Canadians under the age of 65. The condition results in a decline of cognitive abilities like memory, awareness and planning.
“This is the first program of its kind in Ottawa,” said Robin Meyers, director of community support services at Carefor.
“We noticed this gap in needs and wanted to create this unique club for individuals living with young onset dementia,” she said.
Meyers added the program was created after a high number of younger people requested to join Carefor’s programs, meant for older seniors. The club, which currently has 10 members, meets at Carleton every Tuesday.
Carleton is always looking to break down barriers for people facing significant health challenges, said Benoit-Antoine Bacon, president of Carleton University.
“That includes, most of all, people with disabilities and people that are dealing with serious health issues,” Bacon added.
Ottawa Centre’s MPP, Joel Harden, also spoke at the event, bringing up the importance of inclusive initiatives on-campus like the Paul Menton Centre.
“Today is one of those moments where we can say we are setting in place an infrastructure so all people can be part of this club,” Harden said.
Bacon also spoke to the importance of making campus more inclusive and accessible.
“We have arguably the most accessible campus in the country,” he said while speaking at the event.
“We want to make sure that people from all walks of life, all countries, all ethnicities, feel welcome here and are included in what we do.”
Featured photo by Rachel Fishet.
