Letter to the Editor – Christine Watson

Dear Editor,

 As an advocate of the Alzheimer’s Association, I am writing to you after spending the day at the Georgia State Capitol where I celebrated Alzheimer’s Awareness Day and lobbied my local legislators to help Georgia’s 150,000+ families living with Alzheimer’s disease.

I am asking my local legislators Representative Robert Dickey and Senator John Kennedy to allocate $450,000 in the FY25 Department of Community Health budget for a brain health awareness campaign to promote early diagnosis. I’m also asking them to support House Bill 1123, which protects vulnerable adults, especially those with dementia, who may be susceptible to exploitation, neglect and abuse. HB1123 calls for statewide collaboration of law enforcement, victims services and other agencies. Having watched my husband and a dear friend make decisions they would not have made before dementia; I have seen first-hand the vulnerability criminals prey on.  It’s unlikely that the 150,000+ adults living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias in Georgia have a caregiver monitoring their decisions carefully and constantly to protect them from these predators. The important thing is this statewide collaboration will ensure that victims and their families will have access to the support they need and the coordination that will expedite their receipt of that support. It will also help ensure these vulnerable Georgians are not victims of recurring abuse. Visit alz.org to get involved with the fight against Alzheimer’s.

 Sincerely,

Christine Watson

HHJ News