I was raised by a matriarchy of women. These women taught me to be kind and nurturing and self sufficient and opinionated. They taught me to stand up for my values and stand up for others. They taught me to always act from a place of kindness. In 2020, I lost my great grandmother, one of these amazing women, to dementia. And this year, my great aunt has experienced significant cognitive decline due to her dementia. Dementia is a very specific kind of grief. It's coming to terms with losing your loved one while they're still alive - while you can still sit next to them and look into their eyes and hold their hand. It's grieving for them as they experience the fear of losing their grip on reality. Being a caregiver to someone with dementia can take everything out of you. It requires incredible mental fortitude and great physical strength as well. It is also incredibly expensive and price is a huge barrier for people. But our loved ones don't deserve to be forgotten. They deserve access to good care in the last years of their life whether it is by us or with the help of loving professionals. Memory Care in North Carolina is incredibly expensive and very underfunded. On average, the places in the triangle can cost $8,000/mo if not more for a safe, comforting facility. There are over 180,000 people living with Dementia in North Carolina and these numbers are expected to increase to 210,000 by the year 2025. Caregivers for individuals with dementia are a rapidly growing sector of our older population. In NC, an estimated 358,000 dementia caregivers are providing 517 million hours of unpaid care each year. This is why Dementia Alliance of North Carolina focuses all of their efforts locally and offers insight, compassionate support, and assistance to those who are living with or caring for individuals throughout all stages and types of dementia. Over the past year, Dementia Alliance of North Carolina has served over 10,000 people living with dementia and their caregivers with the care and support they need to navigate a dementia diagnosis through our education, navigation and support programs. Please join me in supporting these caregivers in our community. If we can make their lives even a little easier, it will be worth it. I know I couldn't navigate through this without help. Thank you!