The city of Tempe has been named one of six locations around the country to pilot a nationwide effort to become "dementia friendly."

The designation comes from this week’s White House Conference on Aging and the local effort has been spearheaded by Tempe’s Mayor Mark Mitchell.

“We work with the caregivers in our community to see what resources are out there (to) make sure that our first responders know if you see someone wandering the streets and seem a little disorientated or something that there are certain signs that our first responders will look for," Mitchell said.

The issue is personal for Mitchell, whose own mother suffers from Alzheimer's.

It’s estimated there are 120,000 Arizonans living with the disease.