Building Belonging

Topics: Dementia

Older adults from ethno-racial communities living with dementia often face additional challenges – language barriers, lack of culturally relevant supports, and limited engagement within existing systems. These barriers can lead to isolation, stigma, and unmet needs.

Building Belonging aims to change that by increasing social inclusion and improving well-being for older adults living with dementia from diverse ethno-racial communities in Hamilton and Halton. It supports organizations in identifying and addressing barriers to accessing services, information, and community resources.

How It Works

Using a collective impact model, this project:

Supports five local organizations in the Hamilton and Halton areas in addressing systemic barriers.
Fosters meaningful roles for people living with dementia and family care partners from ethno-racial communities.
Creates new partnerships that strengthen inter-community collaboration.
Works together to identify solutions that make services more culturally safe, inclusive, and responsive to diverse needs.
Engages volunteers and build public awareness about the needs of diverse older adults.

The RIA will serve as the lead organization, facilitating shared learning, supporting capacity-building, and ensuring lived experience remains at the heart of this work.

Who This Supports

Older adults from diverse ethno-racial backgrounds living with dementia
Family and friend care partners
Community-based organizations and service providers
Volunteers supporting older adults

Collaborating Organizations

YWeBelong: Building Social Inclusion for Diverse Seniors Living with Dementia YWCA Hamilton	YWCA Hamilton will support people living with dementia from the Punjabi, Somali & Afghan communities by hosting cultural cafés and cross‑community events, caregiver information sessions, and offering support from Cultural Navigators.
Empowering Older Indigenous Adults Living with Dementia Through Community and Connection Hamilton Council on Aging	Hamilton Council on Aging with Six Nations of the Grand River, and De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre will expand dementia empowerment groups and launch a new peer‑led group — centring Elders, students, care partners and lived experience.
The Unforgotten: Black Seniors and Dementia Matters Afro-Canadian Caribbean Association	Unforgotten: Black Seniors and Dementia Matters will launch a cultural awareness campaign to normalize conversations about memory loss and co-design supportive spaces, including memory-based and recreational activities, intergenerational events, and peer groups, all guided by a Lived-Experience Advisory Circle. The team will also train staff, volunteers and caregivers and create an Unforgotten Toolkit.
Building Belonging: Dementia and Caregiver Support in the Halton Chinese Community Redleaf Cultural Integration	Building Belonging in the Halton Chinese Community will offer Mandarin‑language, hybrid programming, and system‑navigation support. It will reduce stigma through education and caregiver training, and run weekend sessions (inspired by RIA’s DELIGHT program) featuring singing, harmonica, gentle exercise, arts and more, with meaningful leadership roles for participants.
Hope for Dementia Human Endeavour	Hope for Dementia will deliver co‑designed weekly programming for South Asian older adults in Milton and Oakville, alternating between in‑person sessions and online offerings via dementia‑friendly tablets. Activities will include gentle physical activity, cultural arts, and resource navigation. They’ll also host annual workshops, roundtables and webinars, and share a knowledge‑mobilization toolkit.

Our Impact

Over the next four years, Building Belonging will support more than 500 older adults, launch local awareness campaigns, train volunteers, and create resources to help organizations deliver inclusive programs that reflect the communities they serve.

Research Team Acknowledgement Related Projects Related Resources