BANGOR- A wave of purple over Bass Park Saturday morning as hundreds gather for a three mile walk to end Alzheimer’s.
“This is real and it’s happening right now, and as you can see this is no longer being kept in the closet, much like cancer was 40 years ago. People are talking about it and people are coming out in force to fight this disease,” said Adam Lacher, the Director of Communications and Advocacy for the Maine Chapter.
Nearly a thousand people from all over Eastern Maine came out to support the cause, whether it be people who lost a loved one, people who have loved ones currently battling the disease, or even people who are currently fighting the disease.
“Each person that comes to our walk is encouraged to pick a flower. We have four different colors representing different reasons as to why people would be here to walk. And so we do have many people who pick the blue flower which means that they are living with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia,” said Benjamin Smith, the co-chair of the planning committee.
And while the disease is the sixth leading cause of death nationwide, it is a major issue here in Maine. Currently, there are 26,000 Mainers living with the disease, and 68,000 caretakers. Many of these caretakers are family members who help their loved ones 24 hours a day because care is expensive and hard to find.
“Maine is unique in that we are the oldest state in the country so senior issues are definitely front of mind for many policy makers. But there’s so much more that we can do. We’re trying to reach as many people as possible because we’re constantly seeing that demand is high for these types of care and support services,” said Lacher.
This year’s goal is for Maine to raise $740,000, and they have until November 30th to meet that goal. If you would like to make a donation, click HERE.
