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Manchester residents invited to Dementia Education lecture series in Saline

Editor note: Once again Dementia Friendly Saline has reached out specifically to invite Manchester residents to attend this lecture series one community over. 

submitted by Chelsea Harvey, Program Coordinator, Dementia Friendly Saline

The good, but challenging, news is that many more people are living, and living longer with, Alzheimer disease, so the need for reliable information about this dementia-causing disease is increasing sharply. That 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 starting on October 1 from 7pm to 8:30pm, and the subsequent four Tuesdays in October. Holy Faith Church Social Hall is located at 6299 Saline Ann Arbor Rd in Saline.

With the huge Baby Boomer generation reaching the age when the Alzheimer risk sharply increases, roughly every minute another American develops Alzheimer, 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 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 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 Association, the Alzheimer 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 onsite for persons living with dementia can be provided by advance reservation. All are welcome to the lecture series in Holy Faith readily accessible Social Hall. Plenty of parking, no steps.

Saline 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, other forms of dementia, caregiving, and living in the community with dementia. Because no one, and no family, need face Alzheimer alone. It a disease, not a disgrace.

Please visit  for more information.

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.