Inside BC ‘dementia village’ researchers hope could reshape long-term care

Doreen Freedland was known as the “Land Girl” in Britain during World War II. She was one of thousands of women who were recruited to work in gardens and fields to help continue food production while the men went off to fight.

“Sometimes it was fun, but other times it was a little harder when everything was cold and you had to pick those seedlings,” she says.

Now at age 94, Freeland is rekindling that connection with the outdoors at The Village Langley, a care facility located southeast of Vancouver. people with dementia,

But rather than a hospital setting, the five-acre facility is designed to look and feel like a community, with a store, a hair salon, a local café, a woodshop and a barn with animals.

Freeland was diagnosed with dementia about five years ago and now lives with her daughter, Gail Deyle, who brings her to The Village’s adult day program once every week.

“If we miss Thursday, I’ll be in trouble,” DayLe says jokingly.

She says that her mother becomes “irritated” whenever she visits her.

Freeland, shovel in hand, tills the soil in raised garden beds, feeds the chickens and hangs out with her friends and goats in The Village.

“Goats are huge,” she says. “If it comes down to it, I like animals more than people.”

After Freeland’s diagnosis, she moved from Nova Scotia to BC to live with Deyle, who left work to become her full-time caregiver.

“She’s also legally blind but that doesn’t stop her,” says Deyle.

“She once told me that if she couldn’t play in the mud, she didn’t want to be around.”

Deyle says an occupational therapist recommended The Village and the activities and social interaction there have made her mother more engaged.

“It’s definitely a different concept and I’d like to see a lot more of them,” says Deyle.

‘We all want to live the best life we ​​can’

Opened in 2019, approximately 75 residents live full-time in The Village Langley’s six cottage-style homes.

Its co-founder Elroy Jespersen says most residents are in the middle to late stages of dementia, while others have cognitive limitations, brain injuries or conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.

He says the concept evolved from what he observed during his three decades of work in senior citizens’ homes.

“I noticed a group of people who struggled no matter what we did, and these were people who were living with dementia,” he says. “Usually, people lock them inside a unit floor or something to keep them safe.”

“I thought this was not a good way to live.”

Jespersen soon learned about dementia villages and “green care farms” in Europe, where long-term care is combined with activities like gardening and animal care.

He says, “No matter what limitations we have or what cognitive or physical disabilities we have, we all want to live our best lives.” “Sometimes there is dignity in risk.”

Jespersen says the Langley facility is the first of its kind to open in Canada and there are similar facilities there In Comox, B.C.

Researchers are testing the model

The Village is now part of a new research project led by Simon Fraser University (SFU) in BC and McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, which aims to understand what this kind of setting really does for people with dementia and find ways to replicate some elements of it across the country.

SFU Professor Habib Choudhary, one of the research leaders, says the concept of engaging people with dementia in outdoor activities in settings such as gardening, animal care and farming first began decades ago in the Netherlands.

“Quality of life that includes greater mobility, fewer falls, better sleep and less depression,” he says.

Much long-term care in Canada still looks and feels institutional, says Chaudhary.

“Long corridor, rooms on both sides,” he says. “Very few people have outdoor spaces where people can actually go and spend time.

“Too often, we sacrifice quality of life for security.”

Beginning in spring 2026, researchers will interview residents, families, staff and management at The Village Langley to see how people use outdoor areas and animals and will track things like depression and sleep quality.

“The research team aims to provide evidence that can inform future policy to promote and implement innovative approaches in long-term care that will create a normalized and inherently enriching, supportive care community,” Chaudhary says.

Cost and access remain big questions

Living in The Village Langley is out of reach for many families. Jespersen says a full-time position can cost anywhere between $10,000 to $13,000 per month.

“Right now it’s all done privately; there’s no government money going to support the people who live here.”

Jespersen says he hopes the research will help quantify the benefits of the model and ultimately lead to government funding and affordable care for more people.

Some experts insist that farm-style care is not a cure for dementia.

“It won’t stop them from getting worse,” says Dr. Howard Chertko, a cognitive neurologist at Baycrest Health Sciences in Toronto.

He says places like The Villages bring together many of the things known to help, such as regular social contact, physical activity and spending time outdoors.

However, neurologists say the government will need stronger data before spending public money.

“We really need evidence, good evidence of what is effective,” he says. “We just don’t want to think that any program will help.”

He says prevention remains the most cost-effective strategy.

“With exercise, with social stimulation, with better control of blood pressure… there are a number of things that could potentially prevent half the cases of dementia.”

Stigma still isolates people with dementia

According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, more than 770,000 Canadians are living with dementia. The society says this number could reach nearly one million by 2030 and exceed 1.7 million by 2050.

It states that dementia does not refer to any one specific disease but is an overall term for a group of symptoms that are caused by disorders affecting the brain.

Dave Spedding, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Society of Toronto, says there’s still a lot of stigma surrounding dementia. He says people often stop inviting people with dementia to social events or include them in outdoor activities, thinking it’s better to stay safe at home.

“If you’re not invited to something, you’re not going to go there,” he says. “Isolation is really the enemy of dementia travel.”

Spedding says approaches that reduce isolation can reduce stress for both patients and caregivers.

For Dayle, The Village has helped maintain a sense of connection to her mother.

Freeland says she enjoys the company and the rhythm of the weekly visits.

“They seem to cater to everything I want,” she says.

And she knows the program gives her daughter a break, too.

“Gail is quite happy to leave me here and take a breather from time to time,” she says.