Editor:
The Alzheimer Society of B.C. thanks the people of Sechelt and the rest of the Sunshine Coast for their encouraging response to January’s annual Alzheimer Awareness Month and to our new social awareness campaign, “I live with dementia. Let me help you understand.”
Our campaign aims to spark conversations and encourage residents to see dementia differently. Stigma significantly affects the well-being of local people living with dementia. In order to build a dementia-friendly society, we need to move away from fear and denial of the disease, towards awareness and understanding.
This is a very pressing health issue for our aging population. Today, more than half a million Canadians have dementia and that number is expected to nearly double in the next 15 years.
Though Awareness Month is now over, you can still visit ilivewithdementia.ca. Find tips on how to be more dementia friendly, as well as resources to take action against stigma and be better informed about a disease that has the potential to affect every one of us. You can also use the hashtag #ilivewithdementia to help spread the word.
If your family lives with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, please contact our regional Alzheimer Resource Centre at 1-866-984-8348, 1-855-984-8347 or [email protected] for information on support groups and the many other services we offer to assist you.
Vivian Tsai, Alzheimer Society of B.C., North Shore & Sunshine Coast
