Volunteer groups advocate to make a difference in the lives of people facing Alzheimer's and dementia. Jim Wilgus, Executive Director for the Washington State Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about various ways you can help the search for a cure.

Jim says, "There's a lot of ways for folks to engage with the Alzheimer's Association, whether you're in need of services yourself, or you want to volunteer for a clinical trial, or you want to volunteer for an event, or be a community educate educator in your home community. We're present with Walk events in 600 communities across the United States and over almost 30 in my territory.

"There's all kinds of ways for people to get involved. Certainly if you're in need of services, that's a place to start your journey, to access services at the local level or at a 24/7, 365 day year level. Contact our helpline at 1 800 272-3900. We have master's level social workers that work at that helpline to provide care and support services and advice to individuals, but also they're available with our central information around what's happening locally that you can get involved with.

"Another great place to go is our website www.alz.org, and you can access a myriad of resources there, but also find your local chapter. Getting involved as a volunteer, or seeking our services, is a good first step to begin your journey of supporting the Alzheimer's Association or gaining services from the Alzheimer's Association.

"A one time opportunity could be to participate in your state's Advocacy Day, which actually has individuals from all parts of the state. We held ours last week in Olympia here in Washington. We had over 100 individuals at the state capitol in Olympia who visited with every legislator on a scheduled appointment to talk about the agenda that we were promoting to support Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. We were in Juneau last week in Alaska. If you're in Des Moines, if you're in Santa Fe, if you're in Annapolis, there's a state advocacy day for every single state. It's just as easy as finding the information on our website and learning about when those dates are, and how you can register."

Visit https://www.alz.org/trialmatch to find clinical trials in your area.

• Alzheimer's Association website
• About Alzheimer's and Dementia
• Call their helpline at 800.272.3900
• Hear more podcasts about the Alzheimer's Association
• Hear more podcasts about the Walk to End Alzheimers

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks