By Lisa Carolin
Chelsea is on its way to becoming a Dementia Friendly Town. Workshops are being held at local businesses and nonprofit organizations to help employees and volunteers to understand what dementia is, the difficulties people with dementia face, and ways to make their lives less difficult.
On June 12, 2026, Faith in Action in Chelsea held a workshop to become a Dementia Friendly Organization. The workshops are free and last about an hour.
The workshop included an explanation of how to recognize dementia, as well as steps employees can take to make interactions easier and respectful.
FIA Executive Director Sarah Shugart said, “The more people who go through this training, the easier it will be for individuals suffering from dementia and their caregivers to navigate our community. The workshop was very informative and gave us a perspective of what it would be like to have dementia and also practical approaches to communicating with and assisting someone we might interact with who is affected.”
FIA’s staff, as well as 20 volunteers, attended the workshop and learned that about one in nine people over the age of 65 has some form of dementia. Shugart said that some of FIA’s clients fall into that category.
“Being able to apply the best way to help someone with this disease allows them to feel safe while using our services,” said Shugart. “One practical approach is to reduce the number of choices, which can be overwhelming, and give only two or three choices, which can be used in our pantry as people do a food order.”
The effort to become a Dementia Friendly Town began last November when the Chelsea District Library hosted a meeting for the Chelsea Rotary Club and local stakeholders. Dementia Friendly Services founder and director Jim Mangi was there to explain the process. The library also hosted an Envisioning a Dementia Friendly Community workshop last month, exploring how communities can adopt dementia-friendly practices.
To learn more about scheduling a workshop, go to dementiafriendlyservices.org.
