While I can change the subject with my mom, other patients there tell the truth.
When my 94 year old mother says she's going home, I can change the subject or just tell her I don't know yet but some of the patients at the nursing home will tell her that they are going to die there, they are not getting out ever. What do you do? I am not there all the time so I can't keep her from talking to people. She has dementia and does not remember a lot of things but sometimes when I go to visit she is sure she is going home that day and maybe it is coming from other residents since I heard one telling her that she would die there and told an other patient that she wasn't going home either.
Often, when dementia patients seek to go home, they are seeking a time and place before they were ill. Because of their cognitive limitations, they often don't understand that it's not safe for them to be unsupervised.
If your mom is sad, upset or agitated frequently, that is a symptom that should be discusaed with a doctor.