Dementia caregivers in Canada receive much needed support

OTTAWA, Ontario - Jan. 27, 2024 - PRLog -- OTTAWA, ONTARIO - Dementia caregivers across Canada finally now have some much-needed, and free, support thanks to a new online tool from Ontario-based charity Iris The Dragon.

IncludeMe™ - A starting point for dementia caregivers is an engaging and interactive digital educational experience that helps to prepare Canadians for the responsibilities surrounding caring for someone with dementia.

Uniquely informed by caregivers with lived experience, IncludeMe™ leads learners through impactful modules that explore real-life scenarios that people will encounter when caring for someone with dementia. The aim is to help caregivers better understand their role and in turn be better equipped to improve the quality of life of those living with dementia. Visit https://bit.ly/dementia-caregiver for registration info.

"There has been a tremendous focus on the increased role of family members to support aging or ill loved ones at home but not feeling fully equipped to do so," explains Gayle Grass, CEO of Iris the Dragon.

"This program hopes to help to bridge that gap in supporting dementia caregivers by engaging them in an educational experience that meets them where they are at in their caregiving journey and emphasizes the importance of their own self care. We hope this program will help caregivers normalize their experiences and let them know they are not alone."

QUICK FACTS

• January is Alzheimer Awareness Month in Canada.
• According to the Alzheimer Society Canada, 600,000 Canadians are living with dementia and 61%, or 366,000 of them, live at home with 350,000 Canadians identifying as care partners.
• Caregivers are largely unseen and unsung and face time away from work and socializing, out-of-pocket expenses, lower self-care, and an increase in personal mental health issues.
• By 2030, seniors are projected to be 25% of the Canadian population (Statistics Canada, 2018) and there will be one million people living with dementia (Alzheimer Society Canada, 2022).
• IncludeMe™ is free, bilingual, accessible, works with any Internet-connected device, takes about 60-90 minutes to complete, and offers additional downloadable resources.
• Course registration requires just an email address and password so users can remain anonymous.

PROJECT PARTNERS

IncludeMe™ was created with the support of The Alzheimer Society of Lanark Leeds Grenville, the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Addiev Corporate Training, the Perth Community and District Foundation, SE Research, and the Indigenous Diabetes Health Circle.

It was made possible through a financial contribution from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

ABOUT IRIS THE DRAGON

Iris the Dragon is a mental health charity specializing in developing and delivering innovative educational solutions in identified gap areas. All our material is vetted by specialists in their respective fields, community informed, and empirically validated.