At least a thousand people from throughout the Lower Mainland were expected to visit The Village in Langley Saturday, as the first dementia facility of its kind in Canada gets ready to open.

The best review of the day came in when an eight-year-old approached founder Elroy Jespersen.

sa国际传媒淗e said sa国际传媒榯his doesnsa国际传媒檛 look like a senior placesa国际传媒�. And I said sa国际传媒榥o, itsa国际传媒檚 supposed to look like a villagesa国际传媒�.sa国际传媒�

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As the man behind the concept, Jespersen gives much of the credit for the idea to what hesa国际传媒檚 seen in the U.S., the Netherlands, and during his 30 years working in the senior living business.

Several years ago, with the support of some key people, he started blending some of those ideas and sa国际传媒渢oday we have it done and wesa国际传媒檙e inviting the world in to see it,sa国际传媒� Jespersen said.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 the person who is behind the project and thought this is something we should do, to create a better way to support people living with dementia,sa国际传媒� he said.

An estimated 564,000 Canadians were living with dementia in 2016 sa国际传媒� a number that the Alzheimersa国际传媒檚 Society predicts will nearly double to 940,000 people by 2031.

The facility in Langley will be a memory care community where up to 76 people with dementia can live in a village setting complete with cottages, shops, a caf茅, a farm, a salon, fish and duck pond, crafting and art spaces, and a community centre.

Staffed by 72 specially trained employees, The Villagesa国际传媒檚 goal is to create a memory care community that will become the new standard for person-centred care.

The Village will also include a gated entry, eight-foot perimeter fence with a resident location monitoring system, a 24-7 caretaker, and staff on site at all times.

Residents are expected to start moving in Aug. 5.

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