The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is holding a free webinar for California Veterans and their families on Sept. 16 to provide them with information about brain health, memory screenings and veterans benefits.
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Director of Educational and Social Services Jennifer Reeder said organization leaders decided to host the event because they see people who have been through events like traumatic brain injury are more at risk for developing dementia, a general term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills, including judgement, reasoning and complex motor skills.
“Unfortunately, there’s always been a stigma for veterans and mental health illness. We want to raise awareness so they see how knowledge can be empowering,” Reeder said.
There are more than six million people living with Alzheimer’s dementia disease in the United States, including over 650,000 in California who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number will continue to increase.
Even with a diagnosis, support might look different from one case to another.
“It’s hard because individuals with Alzheimers— what is their family? It could be their community or people who hang out together at a community center. There is a camaraderie with others who have experienced the same past. We do have a nationwide toll-free helpline staffed by social workers,” Reeder said.
The organization, she said, also provides professional training on whether past psychological trauma can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
“We train on the bidirectional relationship between trauma and Alzheimer’s,” Reeder said.
Clinical neuropsychologist Viktoriya Samarina, who will be presenting on Services & Support for California Veterans during the webinar, said many younger veterans have mood issues like anxiety and depression, often related to traumatic brain injuries and it is important to “really differentiate between those factors” with testing to isolate which part of the brain is being impacted.
The complicating factor of homelessness must also be considered.
“When we think about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and that bidirectional relationship, there are a lot of people experiencing it who are not just at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s but also, by the way, they might be managing trauma like substance abuse. Not getting support can unfortunately lead to more psychological disorders,” Reeder said.
Historically, she said, society has “let them come home and deal with things on their own” but it is important to help Veterans seek necessary support.
“How to work with homeless veterans— it’s a hard question to answer. It’s definitely harder to reach some of the homeless population but with COVID, we switched to telehealth systems and they might be able to have access to resources like being able to set up iPads,” Samarina said.
Individuals can register for the free “Brain Health Awareness for Veterans” webinar at www.alzfdn.org/veterans.
