Image Credit: Sydney Chisholm / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS

Local support programs highlighted during Alzheimer’s Awareness Month

Jan 7, 2025 | 7:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — January is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month across Canada and the local area’s support group and resource centre wants to make sure people know what kind of help is available.

The Central Interior Alzheimer Society of B.C. out of Kamloops provides several online and in-person support groups in communities around the Interior, along with workshops and individualized programs that meet people where they are in their diagnosis.

Tara Hildebrand is a support and education coordinator with First Link Community Services and the Central Interior Alzheimer Society of B.C. She says the society’s in-person and virtual offerings have become an invaluable support network for people living with dementia or Alzheimer’s and caregivers.

“It’s about supporting people along every single stage of that journey, making sure that they get what they need and have their questions answered,” she explains. “That’s why there is so much value, too, in those support groups, because they’re getting together with people who are going through the exact same thing that they are and they don’t feel so terribly alone.”

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There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s but Hildebrand says providing supportive education to caregivers and people recently diagnosed with the disease can help families function better. Some of the Kamloops-based programs have wait lists and province-wide, the society says the need for resources is growing.

“I know that currently in our province right now, we have more than 85,000 people living with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. By 2050, that is going to triple. And so the need… for programing is vitally important,” she reiterates. “We need to make sure that people know where to go.”

For inquiries about programs, caregiver support or diagnosis information, the Central Interior Alzheimer Society of B.C. can be reached at (250) 377-8200 or at info.kamloops@alzheimerbc.org.

A fulsome list of webinars, in-person programs and support services can be accessed through the First Link Bulletin by clicking here.