{"id":32449,"date":"2023-01-12T17:19:21","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T22:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=32449"},"modified":"2023-01-19T18:45:01","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T23:45:01","slug":"support-changes-everything-for-people-living-with-dementia-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/support-changes-everything-for-people-living-with-dementia-society\/","title":{"rendered":"Support changes everything for people living with dementia: Society"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

January is Alzheimer\u2019s Awareness Month and the Alzheimer Society of York Region is aiming to connect people living with dementia \u2013 and their families \u2013 with the supports they need so they don\u2019t have to face the journey alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding supports early is key in this journey, they say, and the Society\u2019s First Link program is a great initial step forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Link is a program offering services and information to people living with Alzheimer\u2019s and other dementias on risk reduction, living well with dementia, up-to-date research, referrals in more. It\u2019s all about helping individuals and their families manage the many challenges dementia can present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a horrible, difficult disease for anyone, but people fare a little bit better if they\u2019re connected earlier,\u201d says Andrea Ubell, Director of Programs & Client Services, for the Alzheimer Society of York Region, which is based on Edward Street in Aurora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the program\u2019s inception, Ubell says the number of people who have reached out to become involved has been \u201csteadily increasing,\u201d something she attributes both to more people being diagnosed as well as more doctors being aware of what the program offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat usually happens when you go to a doctor is they say, \u2018You have this disease, here\u2019s a number, give it a call.\u2019 The beauty of First Link is when the diagnosis is first made at the doctor\u2019s office, the families and the person are asked, \u2018Would you like us to connect you with the Alzheimer Society?\u2019 At that point, referral is sent to us, and we call them in a week or two, depending on how urgent the situation is, and stay in touch with the family, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the old days, and it still happens, you got to a geriatric specialist or you get a diagnosis, they may or may not see you again unless there\u2019s a problem. Knowledge is power and helps us to cope better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program also connects patients and their families with other organizations that provide supports, such as CHATS (Community & Home Assistance to Seniors), for people with different needs, including those in the early stages of dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPart of what the Alzheimer Society of Canada is doing is trying to combat some of that stigma,\u201d says Ubell of some of the preconceived ideas people have about Alzheimer\u2019s and other forms of dementia. \u201cUnfortunately, here in York Region we don\u2019t have a memory clinic, per se. People are not often diagnosed until they are well into the disease. Family doctors are a little bit reluctant to give people that diagnosis. Families and the person with the disease, because of the nature of the disease to some people and how it presents, are reluctant or unable to accept it. They don\u2019t reach out for help and we see them in our emergency rooms at a crisis point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To underscore the importance of making contact early, Ubell recalls one family who became involved with the Society back in 1992. A son reached out regarding his mother\u2019s life with dementia and their family support groups and education classes proved invaluable \u2013 and proved invaluable again when the man\u2019s wife reached out to them again several years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe was aware enough to see there were changes in her husband. She was seeing them, able to get to a doctor early, get him diagnosed, get him on some medication, and I would say for the first few years they lived very well with the disease and that\u2019s the whole point of us trying to reach families early,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s telling people they\u2019re able to live well in the early stages of the disease and, as the disease progresses, with the right support, families will be able to get through this with support. It\u2019s a very difficult hill. \u2018Call us.\u2019 That\u2019s the main thing. Reach out and call us. There\u2019s never a question that is something you shouldn\u2019t ask. If we don\u2019t know the answer, we will find it out. It\u2019s support, it\u2019s educational resources, and it\u2019s linking to services whether they be our service or community services. The health care system is a really challenging one to navigate, even if you work in it, it is very confusing. If we can help in any way, please don\u2019t delay calling.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get connected to support, contact First Link Coordinator, Sara MacLean at 905-726-3477 or smaclean@alzheimer-york.com<\/a>. For more information, visit alzheimer.ca\/york\/en\/help-support\/programs-services\/first-link<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January is Alzheimer\u2019s Awareness Month and the Alzheimer Society of York Region is aiming to connect people living with dementia \u2013 and their families \u2013 with the supports they need so they don\u2019t have to face the journey alone. Finding supports early is key in this journey, they say, and the Society\u2019s First Link program […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-8rn","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-26 05:17:11","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32449\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}