Holy Faith Church and Dementia Friendly Saline+ Initiate Dementia Awareness Program
Community News
October 1, 7-8:30 PM, Holy Faith Church Social Hall 6299 Saline Ann Arbor Rd, Saline, (and the subsequent 4 Tuesdays in October)
The good, but challenging, news is that many more people are living, and living longer with, Alzheimer’s Disease, so the need for reliable information about this dementia-causing disease is increasing sharply. That’s why Dementia Friendly Saline+ and Holy Faith Church of Saline are partnering in October to offer a 5-week series of presentations and conversations about dementia, caregiving and living in a dementia friendly community.
With the huge Baby Boomer generation reaching the age when the Alzheimer’s risk sharply increases, roughly every minute, another American develops Alzheimer’s, which is the most common cause of the memory loss and thinking problems we call “dementia.” And new drug therapies might help slow down its progression, allowing persons with Alzheimer’s to live a good life longer. But the increasing numbers of caregivers need more information and support to care for their spouses, partners, and parents, and they continue to have a difficult time finding it or even knowing that there is help and support on the dementia journey.
The October In This Together dementia awareness and education series aims to inform the public, whether they are dementia caregivers, or might someday be, or have friends on the dementia journey, about the realities of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, about caregiver tools and techniques, about ways to reduce risk of developing dementia, and about some good news on the research and treatment front. There will also be information about Dementia Friendly communities.
The evidence-based presentations, using information from the Alzheimer’s Association, the Alzheimer’s Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and other reliable sources, will be followed by snack-mediated small group discussions and opportunities for caregivers and others to connect with one another and browse tables full of free literature about dementia and caregiving, from reliable sources. Supervised care on-site for persons living with dementia can be provided by advance reservation. All are welcome to the lecture series in Holy Faith’s readily accessible Social Hall. Plenty of parking, no steps.
Saline’s Holy Faith Church, a small congregation with a big outreach, is expanding their long-standing partnership with Dementia Friendly Saline+. Since 2020 they have offered a very popular Memory Café for persons living with dementia and their care partners, and they recently set up a Dementia Friendly Chorus. Now, the In This Together series will offer much-needed information and support to the public about Alzheimer’s, other forms of dementia, caregiving, and living in the community with dementia. Because no one, and no family, need face Alzheimer’s alone. It’s a disease, not a disgrace.
Please visit www.dfsaline.org for more information.
