Help is available for Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers
As 2008 begins, I would like to go back a few months and spotlight the works of the Alzheimer's Association, whose recognition month is November. Their formal mission statement is "to enhance care and support for individuals, their families and caregivers and to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research."

Their day-to-day activities deal with the real-life physical and emotional highs and lows as the individual and his/her caregivers go through the progressive symptoms that indicate the end of the circle of their intellectual lives. It is estimated that roughly 10 percent of the over- 65 age population has Alzheimer's, or a related dementia disorder, with the percentage increasing significantly for the over-75 age group.

It is difficult for family/ caregivers to detach emotionally from observing the steady decline in the intellectual and social functioning abilities of their once very strong spouse, parent, sibling or friend.

The Alzheimer's Association serves to:

• Provide resources to families and caregivers;

• Hold seminars about many facets of the disease;

• Raise funds for research and continuation of their mission;

• Provide respite care for the caregiver.

United Way of Monmouth County has provided funding for the last few years for the "Respite Care Program for Caregivers," overseen by Alzheimer's Association. This program provides the financial support for alternate care services that allows the primary caregiver to have some time off from the physical and emotional stress associated with the demands of supervising and caring for someone all day, every day. This year's allocation was $10,000 from the United Way.

United Way of Monmouth County is a leader in the community, building coalitions, solving problems and acting as an advocate.

We raise funds through a variety of campaigns, leadership giving, direct mail, special events and marketing efforts. And we invest these financial and human resources to produce results that meet our community's needs.

This letter cannot begin to list all of the services provided by the Alzheimer's Association. To find out more about Alzheimer's, log on to www.alznj.org. There is much more that needs to be accomplished to make the conclusion of the circle of life as kind and generous as possible.

RoseAnn Slawson

United Way of Monmouth County

Wall Township