Step inside a very special village…

Natasha’s microtown is a huge help for residents with dementia

With picket fences, manicured lawns, a beauty salon and cafe, Newdirection Care looks more like a suburban enclave than a traditional aged care community.

And that’s exactly what its founder hoped to create. The Bellmere, North Brisbane microtown has all the facilities residents might hope for and more – a cinema, corner store, GP, dentist and a town centre. But it has one major difference – more than 70 per cent of people living there have dementia.

“The residents are continuing to live their lives and have a sense of happiness and joy,” explains CEO and founder Natasha Chadwick. “Most people walking around the community say they can’t tell if someone is living here or visiting, and to me that says it all. We must be doing something right.”

Inspired by a village in the Netherlands that caters specifically for people with dementia called Hogeway, the Australian microtown, which opened in 2017, gives residents the freedom to socialise and maintain their everyday life.

“The biggest difference is that we’re not a dementia village, we’re an inclusive community,” says Natasha, 53, who prides herself on providing a sense of independence to the 119 residents.

“I can’t understand why we accept as a society that someone who is living with a brain disease should be locked away. It’s simply a diagnosis, but it doesn’t stop people from living.”

Instead of one large building, there are 17 separate dwellings, each with seven residents and a trained carer, who acts as nurse, cleaner, chef, friend and support.

It’s a revolutionary model Natasha hopes is rolled out across the country. “I’d want this type of care for my mum, or somebody I love,” she says. “And I’m really pleased we’re able to give it to other families.”