African American Community Forum provides support information

Information and resources on Alzheimer's disease and other dementia will be featured at the Alzheimer's Association's Pythias A. and Virginia I. Jones African American Community Forum on Memory Loss. The event is presented as four 90-minute virtual sessions on Saturday, 10-11:30 a.m.: November 6, 13, 20, and December 4, 2021. All sessions are free but registration is required at bit.ly/2021AACF to receive a Zoom link. Participants may select individual sessions of interest.
This is the 17th year of the annual event that targets African Americans, who are affected by Alzheimer's disease and other dementia at twice the rate as Whites. In the U.S., there are more than 6 million people living with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia, and more than 110,000 are Marylanders.
"Each year, our goal is to provide information that addresses the needs of people living with a diagnosis, while also including supportive resources for caregivers," says Marlyn Taylor, Alzheimer's Association Greater Maryland Chapter Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager. "In addition, the virtual format is advantageous for caregivers that are challenged finding someone to provide care in their absence."
Topics include Dementia in the Black Community: Risks and Inequities; Having a Seat at the Table: Honoring Our Ancestors Through the Promise of Research; New IDEAS Study: Why Communities of Color Need to be Represented in Clinical Trials; Caregiving Challenges, Resources, and Candid Conversations; and Brain Health and Risk Reduction: The Role of Nutrition and Exercise in Brain Health.
Presenters are dementia experts: Carl V. Hill, Ph.D., Alzheimer's Association Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer; Dr. Chiadi Onyike, M.B.B.S., M.D., Director, Johns Hopkins Frontotemporal Dementias Program, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Dr. Peggye Dilworth Anderson, Ph.D., Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; Rita Choula, Director of Caregiving, AARP Public Policy Institute; Dr. Claudia Thorne, Ph.D., LCSW, LISW, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Coppin State University; Angela Ginn-Meadow, RD, LDN, RN, CDE, Senior Education Coordinator, University of Maryland Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology; and Kai Rundquist, Food Distribution & Outreach Coordinator, Civic Works Mobile Farmers Market.
A panel discussion by current and former caregivers includes Esther A. Leslie Avery, Dr. Laurencia Hutton-Rogers, and Al Powell.
Certified exercise instructor Renaye Briscoe leads a Zumba warm-up. Optional 30-minute sessions on Effective Communication Strageties for Caregivers; and Health Living for Your Brain and Body are available on November 20 and December 4 respectively.
To register, call the 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900 or go online at bit.ly/2021AACF.