He Moved Into a Dementia Ward at 21. Here's What He Discovered

About this episode

What if we've confused keeping people safe with giving them a good life? Meet Teun Toebes, Dutch healthcare innovator, author and dementia advocate on a mission to change how the world lives with dementia. At 21, most of us are figuring out what to do with our lives - but Teun decided to move into a locked dementia ward in the Netherlands. Not as a patient, and not as a carer, but as a housemate. For three and a half years, he shared his life with people whose voices are too often overlooked. His experience sparked an international movement, a documentary called Human Forever, and a campaign to open the doors of locked nursing homes. But this isn't simply a story about changing aged care. It's about friendship, freedom, dignity, and the extraordinary things that can happen when we stop defining people by what they've lost. (Podcast Image Credit: Teun with housemate. Stan Heerkens) In this episode: • Why a 21-year-old nurse decided to move into a locked dementia ward • What three and a half years living alongside people with dementia taught him • How football, a motorcycle and a very fast speedboat can change the end of a life • Why good intentions don't always lead to a go