Dementia Education Program Newsletter
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Young Caregiver Community
A supportive space for informal caregivers who are looking after a person with young-onset dementia.
The 苹果淫院 Research Centre for Studies in Aging and the Dementia Education Program have joined forces to offer free, monthly virtual support groups for young caregivers who are looking after a person with young-onset dementia, a diverse condition that affects people under the age of 65.
Animated by Mallery Landry, this community outreach initiative offers a safe, non-judgmental online space for caregivers to share their stories, voice concerns and discuss the joys and challenges of this role with their peers. Our goal is to give a voice to caregivers who face the unique reality of having a parent, a spouse or a sibling with young-onset major neurocognitive disorders.听
We invite you to join our community of young caregivers!
We have been offering six different ongoing monthly support communities for the following groups since September 2023.听听
|
Target audience |
Age |
Time |
Duration |
Language |
|
Teenagers |
13-19* |
Not currently offered. Please reach out by email if interested. |
1 hour |
French |
|
Young Adults |
20-40 |
7 p.m. |
1.5 hours |
French |
|
Young Adults |
20-40 |
7 p.m. |
1.5 hours |
English |
|
Spouses/Partners |
30-65 |
7 p.m. |
1.5 hours |
French |
|
Spouses/Partners |
30-65 |
7 p.m. |
1.5 hours |
French |
|
Spouses/Partners |
30-65 |
7 p.m. |
1.5 hours |
English |
*Please note that parental consent will be required for all youth under the age of 14.
To join one of our groups, the caregiver should meet the following criteria:
- Must be caring for a person living with young-onset dementia;
- Must meet the age criteria to participate in each group, as defined in the chart above;
- Must have a computer or digital device with internet connectivity to access the Microsoft Teams platform.
Please note that registration for the spring session of the Young Caregiver Community support groups will begin in April 2024. Mallery Landry is currently on leave and will return in autumn 2024. In her absence, the upcoming English sessions will be moderated by Miranda Potts and the French sessions will be moderated by Lydia Trudel.
For more information, please send an email to dementia [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Young%20Caregiver%20Community) .
Miranda Potts is passionate about advocating for marginalized people while promoting inclusion and diversity through her social activism and involvement in community work. She completed training in Special Care Counselling at Vanier College and has been actively involved in outreach programs for many community organizations over the years, including Fondation de la Visite, Prevention CDN-NDG, WIN-The West-end Intergenerational Network, and Gay & Grey Montreal. Miranda sits on the board of several organizations, including the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal鈥檚 Cavendish Users鈥� Committee, the CIUSSS Ethnocultural & Minorities Working Group and Bienvenue 脿 Notre-Dame-de-Gr芒ce. In 2021, she was named Woman of the Year by the Montreal Council for Women in recognition of her enthusiastic community leadership. Miranda currently serves as the Community Health Advocate and Intervention Worker at the Eva Marsden Centre for Social Justice & Aging.
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Lydia Trudel, MSc, is a PhD student enrolled in 苹果淫院's Integrated Program in Neuroscience (IPN). She has a master's degree in biomedical sciences. Her research centers on biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease and employs imaging techniques to unravel the disease's underlying mechanisms. Lydia's work is dedicated to advancing our comprehension of Alzheimer's disease, with the potential to enhance diagnostics and treatment strategies.
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Mallery Landry is pursuing a multidisciplinary degree in social sciences at Universit茅 Laval. She has been working at the 苹果淫院 Research Centre for Studies in Aging (MCSA) since 2017 and assumed her current role as clinical coordinator in 2020. In this position, she gained hands-on experience in managing clinical activities, supporting families, administering standardized cognitive tests and collaborating with researchers. Mallery recently completed her certification as a Dementia Care Provider and has also worked at the Alzheimer Society of the Eastern Townships as a group leader at their Day Centre.
In the fall of 2022, with the help of Dr. Dolly Dastoor, former Clinical Administrator at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Mallery created the MCSA鈥檚 first support groups dedicated to teenagers, young adults and spouses who are caregivers of people with young-onset dementia. This initiative is a continuation of her innovative leadership role in this area.
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