A recent luncheon at the Ladysmith Resources Centre Association was all about celebrating seniors, but also about educating and supporting them.
The Ladysmith Resources Centre Association (LRCA) hosted a luncheon Oct. 1 to celebrate National Seniors Day and offer information, including a presentation by the Alzheimer Society of B.C.
“On behalf of the greater community, I wanted to express our gratitude to you for your dedication, individually and collectively, to our community,” Mayor Rob Hutchins told the group. “I see so many active volunteers here.”
Several years ago, the LRCA put on a National Seniors Day event, and it was such a success that they committed to doing this every year to recognize seniors in our community, explained LRCA executive director Dennis Lait.
“Every time the community needs something, who’s at the front of the line? It’s the seniors,” he said. “Without your help and the hours you put in, most of the things that happen in Ladysmith wouldn’t happen. Thank you.”
Jane Hope of the Alzheimer Society of B.C. gave a presentation about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
She told the group there are 70,000 people in B.C. living with dementia or Alzheimer’s, and 10,000 of those are younger than 65.
The Alzheimer Society is working to create dementia-friendly communities, which involves ensuring there is awareness, understanding, support and inclusion, explained Hope.
“It’s important that we understand what’s going on with people with dementia because you can’t see it,” she said.
Hope says the most common question she gets asked is probably “what is dementia?”
“Dementia is a word for the symptoms we see,” she said. “It’s caused by brain damage, and the brain damage is actually caused by the disease, and Alzheimer’s is probably the most common disease.”
For more information about Alzheimer’s and dementia, visit www.alzheimerbc.org.