Park Square Turned Purple to Raise Alzheimer's Awareness
Park Square featured signs with facts about the disease.
It's a disease that often takes years to be noticed and when it is, many people don't know what to go or where to go.
The Berkshire Alzheimer's Partnership is working to give those caregivers the support and resources they need and on Monday, the longest day of the year, the group turned Park Square purple to spread awareness of the disease.
"Today is the first day of summer, summer solstice, the longest day of the year. We're here on behalf of the Berkshire Alzheimer's Partnership to raise awareness for people who take care of those with alzheimer's and dementia. We're here from sunrise to sunset to represent that for caregivers of people with dementia every day can feel like the longest day," Karen Gold, co-chair of the partnership, said.
From sunrise to sunset, the organizations decorated the park, had live music and a ceremony featuring state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, and offered inspirational words. At the end of the evening, a candlelight vigil was held to honor those caregivers.
"Our primary goal is to raise awareness and our hope and mission is that by raising awareness we can all reach out to each others and the more people feel connected and supported, the more people are going to thrive," said Lynn Pandell, executive director of Home Care Services of Massachusetts and co-chair of the event.
Throughout the day visitors and residents were able to connect with the organization and get direction as to where they can receive assistance.
"I think oftentimes they are isolated and confused and I think that is one of the reasons our partnership has really made a commitment, as we have, because we want people to feel like there is a place locally they can go and get an array of resource information so they can see what is their fingertips locally to help them," Panel said.
Gold added, "By turning the park purple, we are getting a lot of attention from traffic and the people walking around here, people reading our signs that have facts on the prevalency of alzheimer's and the impact on families. People are coming in looking for information and resources."
The organization operates under the umbrella of the non-profit Alzheimer's Association and is a collaboration of volunteers identifying specific needs in Berkshire County, providing assistance, fundraising, and hosting awareness events and open forums.
"Unless you have a family member with it or a need for more information, you don't really seek us out. The partnership has been around since 2000 so we've been around for 16 years. We are a group of volunteers that are mostly comprised of health care professionals, human services professional, family caregivers, and anyone from the community who is interested in this cause," Gold said.
Monday's event also included a fundraising effort, but that was a secondary goal, Panel said. The primary focus was to shed light on the disease. Those attending the event had the option of making donations and buy a tribute flag.
"We want to let the community know what resources are available locally," Panel said.
This year was the first time the event was held locally, but Gold says it has been a tradition of the Alzheimer's Association. The individual communities are allowed to put their own spin on it, such as playing golf or cards all day to raise awareness and funds.
Tags: Alzheimer, awareness event,
