URBANA, Ill – Residents gathered in the Lewis Auditorium of the Urbana Free Library on March 23 to learn more about what it means to be part of a dementia-friendly community at the Dementia Friendly Champaign-Urbana Kick-Off event.
This event allowed the public to learn about DFCU and offered resources readily available in the Champaign-Urbana community. Representatives from nearly a dozen health-based local organizations held booths at the event, connecting with fellow health representatives and event attendees seeking information to improve their businesses or individual needs and make them more dementia-friendly.
During the informative event, event organizers shared presentations on various dementia friendly topics. Health and Family Educator Emily Harmon, who is a part of the champion organization of this initiative, leads the discussion on why making our community dementia friendly is so important. “We are targeting first responders, financial, and legal services to provide dementia friendly education. Our community needs assessment indicated this is what our community needs.”
Presentations from the event emphasized the link between mental and physical health, with some emphasizing the impact it has on one’s heart health. One presenter from Synergy Home Care stated, “Movement can be done at any age and any ability,” which was a point emphasized throughout the event by numerous representatives.
“The turnout for this event has been great,” said Harmon. “We were so pleased to see so many members from the community supporting this initiative.”
Harmon is just one of the many representatives who make up the Dementia Friendly Champaign-Urbana Task Force and Action Team. In addition to Illinois Extension, this team includes representatives from 20 other local organizations. Champaign-Urbana was officially recognized by Dementia Friendly America® as a Dementia Friendly Community in December 2025. To read more about this recognition and the Dementia Friendly Champaign-Urbana Task Force Action Team, who worked to make this possible, read the full article from Illinois Extension.
If you are interested in getting your business or group trained to become dementia friendly, contact Health and Family Educator Emily Harmon at ebaine@illinois.edu or 217-333-7672.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 500 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through five program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, health and community wellness, and natural resources, environment, and energy.