Intergenerational Learning Program

Seniors are taught by youth volunteers how to use various applications on iPads and tablets. In turn, seniors share their life experiences with youth volunteers, while working on creative projects and participating in group activities such as music workshops and the preparation of brain-healthy meals.  The program bridges the generational gap, makes both youth and seniors feel valued and breaks social isolation that seniors often experience.

Hope for Dementia collaborates with YMCAs in Canada, le Centre de service scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeois and several high schools and educational institutions to recruit youth volunteers to participate in this program.  The program is funded through the support of local MNAs and contributions from various corporate donors.

Healthy Food Healthy Brain: Food Donation Program

Educational material on good nutrition for brain health, recipes and brain-healthy food items are distributed to low-income families and seniors in need.

This program is delivered by Hope for Dementia with the generous support of IGA Extra famille Duchemin, the Echelon Partners Foundation, Ms. Emmanuella Lambropoulos, MP – Saint-Laurent

Just Connect & Tablet Donation Program

Seniors living in residences have access to iPads and tablets, which they use to stay in touch with their families and friends, who in turn, can call or safely check up on seniors through the internet.

Novatek International has generously supported this program.

Busy Box. Better Brain. Project

Activity boxes containing items such as art and craft kits, magazine subscriptions, tablets with instruction manuals, are distributed to seniors in rural areas on a quarterly basis.  Music workshops, group cooking sessions and physical activities are also included.  Seniors acquire new, creative skills in a group setting, stay mentally alert, break social isolation, and learn more about dementia prevention.

This program is funded by the Québec Ministry of Finance – Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québecois d’expression anglaise.  Hope for Dementia partners with the Community Health and Social Services and other community organizations to deliver this program to underserved English-speaking persons and persons living in rural areas with limited access to social services.

Mindful Eating. Healthy Minds.

Seniors learn how to adopt healthy eating habits that promote brain health. Activities include workshops, group meal preparation, distribution of food baskets, and access to educational materials on mindful eating and ways to reduce the risk of dementia through sound nutrition.

This project was initially funded by Employment and Social Development Canada’s New Horizon for Seniors Program 2023 and continues for another three years with the generous support from the Gloria Baylis Foundation.

Move for a Healthy Mind
Move for a Healthy Mind provides seniors with the tools to live a more active healthy lifestyle by reintroducing physical activity on a regular basis. Training sessions are led by a certified trainer using items that can be found in the home. Through Hope for Dementia’s Resource Center, seniors have access to a video with guided exercises as well as educational material with tips on how to stay physically active and an exercise routine that they can do in the comfort of their homes.
Aide-Mémoire-Able

The Aide-Mémoire-Able program was launched in May 2025 as a pilot project in partnership with La Boîte à souvenirs, at Manoir du Casson in Saint-Laurent.  The program promotes intergenerational learning and mentorship, during which seniors share meaningful memories from different stages of their lives with young volunteers. Participants, guided by reflective questions, note writing, and interviews, work together to transform each senior’s personal story into a life story book.

More than just a creative exercise, the project will offer an opportunity to combat isolation, spark memory recall, and nurture a sense of accomplishment in the elderly. At the same time, it will help weave meaningful bonds across generations, preserving each individual’s story for years.

The project is partially funded by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) under the New Horizons for Seniors’ Program.

Research

In 2022, Hope for Dementia participated in a research project led by Martin Arguin, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychology, at the Université de Montréal. The project, entitled Exploring the ability of cognitive screening test results to predict cognitive decline in older adults in the future, aims to discover early indicators of possible future cognitive decline due to progressive neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The results of the research project were discussed during a radio interview on MIKE FM 105.1.

Resource Centre

An online portal with resources to support participants in Hope for Dementia’s programs and members of the community, to reduce the risks of dementia.

Visit the Hope for Dementia Resource Centre to access brochures on dementia prevention, exercise videos, recipes, tips on good nutrition and more…