Mayor Walsh Launches Memory Café for the Alzheimer’s Community

Mayor Walsh at an End Alzheimer’s event/Photo via Mayor’s Office/Isabel Leon

Each month, Bostonians struggling with Alzheimer’s will have a place to make new memories and protect the old.

Mayor Walsh announced Monday that the city’s first memory café, an initiative launched in July, will continue as a monthly occurrence. Memory cafés—an idea that originated in the Netherlands in the late ’90s—serve as meeting places for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers, giving the community a place to reflect and unite under their shared experiences.

“I understand the toll Alzheimer’s takes on a family, and the love and patience that is required to care for someone with the disease,” Walsh said in a statement. “Memory cafés are one way Boston can help relieve the burden and provide additional support.” 

Past meetings, which are cohosted by the Boston Alzheimer’s Initiative and the Grove Hall Center for Youth and Families, have included art activities, guided discussions, and presentations from Alzheimer’s experts. The September meeting, to be held Monday, is set to include classic film clips and a talk from the I’m Still Here Foundation.

While the group’s exact programming will vary from month to month, each memory café aims to include art, culture, and meaningful conversation—tools for easing the burden of dementia and enriching the lives of those who face it every day.

Meetings of the Grove Hall Memory Café will take place at the Boston Center for Youth and Families (51 Geneva Ave., Dorchester) on the first Monday of every month, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For more information, visit boston.gov.