Agencies
Services
Milestone 5: Get Started!
With your plan in hand, you’re ready for implementation. Identify where you want to start and dive in! Make sure you’re clear on where you’re headed:
- What are your first priorities?
- What resources need to be gathered?
- What is the first step?
Guidepost: If you spend too much time on planning, you risk losing momentum. Sometimes you do and then you know. Get the work moving. See how the community responds and continue to build the initiative from there.
From the Field
In Elmhurst, the Senior Commission led the application process for their town to become a Dementia Friendly Community — a place that is informed, safe and respectful of individuals living with dementia, their families and care partners and provides supportive options that foster quality of life.
To better understand the needs of their community and develop an action plan, the Commission recruited a diverse coalition to form a Dementia Friendly Task Force that included people from senior services organizations and programs, government officials and committee members, local government, first responders, city history museum, city hospital, park district, local library, and community members.
In July 2026, Elmhurst officially became the 53rd Dementia Friendly Community in Illinois.
