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 good quality of life
What communities in South Africa and an intergenerational school in America can teach us about dementia
The Open the Doors movement and the push to rethink locked nursing home wards
How living alongside people with dementia changed his understanding of death, grief and what it means to be human

Timestamps:
00:00 The Housemate
00:57 Meet Teun Toebes
03:26 Why a 21-year-old moved into a dementia ward
06:05 Zero Risk, Zero Life
08:19 Becoming a Housemate
11:31 Motorcycles, Speedboats and Friendship with Art
13:24 Midpoint Reflections
15:50 What Happens When You Challenge the System?
17:42 What If a Nursing Home Is Your Only Option?
19:37 Human Forever: Rethinking Dementia Around the World
23:18 Open the Doors: Freedom vs. Safety
26:17 Dementia Rights Are Human Rights
27:31 What Families Need to Know About Dementia
28:47 What Happens When All Your Housemates Die?
30:48 The Power of Paying Attention
32:02 Final Reflections

Curious to find out more?
👉 Explore Teun's documentary, Human Forever

👉 Discover Teun's books, including The Housemates

👉 Support his work through Article 25 Foundation

About Fix The News:
Fix The News is a solutions-focused media platform sharing stories from the frontlines of progress - exploring what’s working in the world and the people making it happen.

Subscribe & follow:
If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast and leave a review - it helps more people find these stories.

Production credits:
Hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose
Produced by Fix The News
Audio production: Anthony Badolato, Hear That!

This episode was produced in Australia on the lands of the Gadigal, Wurundjeri and Woi Wurrung peoples.

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

Fix The News

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