September is World Alzheimer’s Month. The month is dedicated to raising awareness and challenging stigma around Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that affects people’s thinking, memory and behavior, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
The disease is progressive, meaning it starts slowly and worsens over time. Eventually, it grows so severe that it interferes with daily life.
Youth Movement Against Alzheimer’s (YMAA) is an organization supported by Hilarity for Charity (HFC).
HFC is a national nonprofit organization created by actor Seth Rogen and filmmaker Lauren Rogen to support families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease, raise awareness and educate on brain health.
YMAA has 100 chapters across the U.S. at various academic institutions.
Hanna Fields, a senior studying public health, opened up a YMAA chapter at SRU one year ago.
“Our mission is to empower and activate high school and college students across the U.S. to change the trajectory of Alzheimer’s disease through education, awareness and collective action,” Fields said.
Fields was inspired to open the chapter because of her personal experience with a family member and the disease.
YMAA has several core values, including care, collaboration, DEI, innovation, levity and quality.
The organization connects students to their values by providing educational and collaborative events.
Some of the events include giving individuals the opportunity to work in groups and share their thoughts on different topics related to Alzheimer’s.
The organization also partnered with a nursing home to make care packages for residents in the dementia unit.
YMAA holds Dementia Friendly Pennsylvania sessions for students. Dementia Friendly Pennsylvania is a national organization that collaborates with HFC and aims to reduce stigma around dementia.
The organization also aims to make Pennsylvania a friendly environment for people living with dementia by educating and raising awareness about the disease.
“[The event] is basically an information session on how you can help make your community dementia friendly,” Fields said. “…[H]ow to interact with them, and things like that.”
The organization aims to host one Dementia Friendly Pennsylvania session each semester.
Additional virtual sessions are held more often. Students who attend a session can earn a certificate.
YMAA also aims to educate students on brain health.
“We’ll also do other educational events where we focus on what we can do as college students for our own brain health,” Fields said. “We’ve done things for stress management and talked about exercise.”
While the research is unclear, there are some studies coming out that suggest keeping your brain active and reducing stress can reduce the likelihood of dementia, according to Fields.
Fields discussed the stigma associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
“When an individual is living with Alzheimer’s, there are a lot of preconceived notions that they may not be able to do anything for themselves or that they are incapable,” Fields said. “However, that’s not true.”
Fields said it can take 60 seconds or longer for a person with Alzheimer’s to form a response. “If you take that into account when helping them with a task, they are able to do it,” Fields said. “It typically just takes them longer.”
HFC offers many free courses to take on topics like brain health and supporting dementia caregivers. Individuals can visit the website to learn more.
Students who want to get involved in YMAA can find the organization on CORE.
