Dignify Dementia is a small, web-based non-profit organization located in Denver, Colorado, US. We promote dementia awareness and provide accurate information and support to individuals, families, and other care partners living with and navigating dementia. We aim to assist our visitors to get and stay connected to the most helpful and relevant resources, organized in thought and practice, and anchored to the present by emphasizing dignity and independence. We translate our aim into action by employing the products and services offered on our website, which include our complete dementia toolkit, our library of resources from health and wellness practitioners to end-of-life planning; and a monthly Facebook support group as well as a live chat with a professional, licensed clinical social worker specializing in gerontology and dedicated to service in the dementia field.
At Dignify Dementia, it is our mission to assist and support individuals, families, and other care partners living with and navigating dementia, to get and stay connected, organized, and grounded by emphasizing dignity and independence.
My commitment to public health, and my dad, Jim, who lost his battle with Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinsonism this year are my motivation and inspiration for creating Dignify Dementia and doing this work. My mom (his wife of 54 years) and I were his primary care partners from diagnosis in late 2018 until the day he died a few short months ago. We did our very best to care for him so he could stay in our home, but even with two of us, there were days when it was overwhelming and all-consuming for all 3 of us.
My dad is quite honestly my hero, still. He had this degenerative, fatal, and cruel disease and yet, he woke up with a positive attitude most days and faced his dementia with tremendous courage. He was always a man who tried to help others when he could, and one of the first questions he asked when we got his diagnosis was, how can we help other people like me? I told him we'd see what we could do to help him first, but then I promised him I'd find a way to help other people like him and other families like ours.
Based on what we were told by all the doctors and all the research I did on my own, establishing a routine was key for him to feel the most comfortable. With that in mind, I developed a set of resources for him that he used daily until 1 week before he passed. Even as his disease caused significant declines both cognitively and physically, he still completed them every day. He said they helped him “make sense of things” and “keep some of the crazy out” for him. From what my mom, his providers, and I observed, they helped him engage with us and others, and they helped him stay anchored in the present. After years of researching and tailoring this toolkit of resources for him and encouragement from his expansive healthcare network, I finally figured out how I could help him help others, so I started Dignify Dementia (www.dignifydementia.org), a website where I sell the toolkit components to people with all kinds of dementia, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Disease, Lewy Body Dementia, and any other neurodegenerative disorders affecting cognition.
I know I can't cure dementia with my efforts, but if I can make life any easier for those suffering like him and give support to other families like mine, I feel I'm honoring his wishes. To hear more about our journey, please follow my blog on dignifydementia.org.
Organization name
Dignify Dementia
2022
Tax id (EIN)
92-0516059
Category
Human Services, Diseases, Disorders & Medical Disciplines, Public & Societal Benefit, Education
Organization Size
Small Organization
Address
19752 E 54th Ave.CO, US
US