Niwot-based caregivers support group helps families struggling with dementia

Caregiving for someone you love with dementia can test your limits, feel isolating, cause self-doubt and stress. Niwot area caregivers have a resource to help cope with the experience, a monthly caregivers support group which meets at Una Vida, 7960 Niwot Road, free of charge.

Sarah Sutherland has led the group for the last two years. She started the group as a way to give back after a personal experience with the disease. "My mother had Alzheimer's," she said. "When her behavior and cognition started to change, we really weren't sure what was going on. We reached out to the Alzheimer's Association at that time. The organization really helped our family learn about the disease."

Sutherland became a volunteer with the Alzheimer's Association and, approximately two years ago, started the Niwot-based group because there wasn't any other group of its kind at the time. Members learn about the disease, what the stages and symptoms are, and what they might expect in the future. Group members also talk about how to find balance and take care of themselves as they care for others, discuss options for medical care they have used successfully, or have examined if it's time to find a care home for their relative. In addition to finding concrete information, often members are simply seeking a good listener, Sutherland said. "Just to be seen and heard for what you're doing. To be encouraged. But also, it really helps to be able to talk to other people who know what they're going through. Or they may see a change in a family member's behavior. Information can help people understand what's going on and to normalize it. To know that what's happening is part of the disease. And it's something other people have dealt with too."

Currently there are about eight regular members who attend the group, which is held on the second Tuesday of the month from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Anyone is welcome, however, and there is no limit on how many can join. Sutherland said a brand new member joined this past week to get support for caring for their family from a distance.

Running the group has impacted Sutherland immensely. "I think it's just something that speaks to me. I have a soft spot for helping people and families affected by the disease. Old age can be such a vulnerable time of life. And caregivers that never expected to be in a helping role, are now in a place that most people don't have the skills for. They weren't prepared for it. They didn't ask for it. But here it is."

To learn more about dementia and Alzheimer's and the process involved, Sutherland suggests visiting the Alzheimer's Association website at www.alz.org/co. She also recommends an 11-session, weekly class that is beginning in August which is designed for both the person with the diagnosis and their caregiver. Information about that class can be found at (800) 272-3900.