Community Engagement
The Northwestern Mesulam Center has a long history of working with diverse and traditionally underrepresented minority communities to raise dementia awareness and engage in mutually beneficial partnerships.
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Email UsCommunity Partners
South Loop Village
The South Loop Village of Chicago is a community-based volunteer organization created to help neighborhood residents age in a supportive and age-friendly environment. The Mesulam Center is proud to partner with the South Loop Village to engage their residents in improving the community’s health and wellness, particularly as it relates to brain health, dementia awareness, treatment and care, as well as, support for caregiving families. The Mesulam Center is also a partner with the South Loop Village in support of their numerous community engagement activities, including monthly in-person Memory Cafés, a social gathering for persons living with dementia and their care partners and other community events in the South Loop and surrounding communities.
Francis J. Atlas Regional Senior Center
The Francis J. Atlas Regional Senior Center has proudly served seniors on Chicago's southeast side since 1983. Their longstanding partnership with the Mesulam Center promotes brain wellness through educational programs and research opportunities. The research participation of Atlas Center members and the ongoing support and collaboration of their Director, Robin Tillotson is key to the center’s mission.
The Endeleo Institute
Founded in 2011, the Endeleo Institute, Inc is a public charity that fuses longstanding Trinity United Church of Christ nonprofits in health, education and community development into an umbrella organization focused on creating a culture of health in the Washington Heights community, specifically along the West 95th Street Corridor. The Endeleo Institute is a vital partner in the Mesulam Center’s work with the REACH to Faith initiatives and the Woodson Library.
Carter G. Woodson Chicago Regional Public Library
The Carter G. Woodson Regional Library reopened with dementia friendly programming in 2018 through a partnership with the Mesulam Center and the Endeleo Institute. It all started in 2013 when Northwestern University’s Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities (ARCC) provided a partnership building grant to the Endeleo Institute and the Mesulam Center to develop REACH to Faith: Research and Education for African American Caregiver Health. The library, located in Washington Heights on Chicago’s far south side, provides culturally relevant programming and education around dementia, caregiving, and brain health to its community. The staff is trained to engage people with dementia, organize seminars, and provide dementia-related books and resources. As a result of these efforts and the engagement of additional academic and community stakeholders, the community received its designation as Dementia Friendly Washington Heights by Dementia Friendly America in Summer 2022.
LA CARE: Latino Alzheimer’s Coalition for Advocacy, Research and Education
LA CARE considers advocacy for caregiving support services, research and education to be essential components of addressing Alzheimer’s disease health disparities seen in the Latino community. In order to provide greater resources for dementia to the Latino community, LA CARE’s mission is to empower Latinos with Alzheimer’s disease, or at risk for developing it, and their families to obtain greater access to education, family support services, and research opportunities. The Mesulam Center has been a partner in LA CARE since its inception in 2005.
Arts for Brain Health Coalition
Arts for Brain Health Coalition is a city-wide consortium of arts and health care leaders dedicated to improving the lives of people with memory loss and those who care for them, including the Mesulam Center. Collectively, the mission is to improve the quality of life for persons experiencing memory loss by curating moments of joy. Founded in 2016, the coalition has grown to include partnerships with the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Dance Therapy, Good Memories Choir, Hubbard St. Dance Chicago, La Brocha, Lookingglass Theatre, the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Old Town School of Folk Music and Rush University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center.
Webinars
Brain Health Strategies Webinar with South Loop Village and Dr. Treasyri Williams
The Northwestern Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease hosted "Brain Health: Wellness Strategies for Improved Aging Memory and Aging" in November 2020. Gain insight into healthy aging and wellness strategies.