Georgetown Public Library hosts a new Alzheimer’s caregiver support group started by Alzheimer’s Association volunteer Loye Miller.
The group meets each Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m. and is open to everyone.
Miller noticed there was a gap in support groups in central and western Sussex County when he was caring for his father in Seaford.
The Seaford group meets once per month, and Miller said that’s not enough for caretakers who are likely to have emergencies come up. He attended a group in Lewes, closer to his home in Rehoboth.
After his father died, Miller went through the training to become a discussion group moderator for the Alzheimer’s Association.
“There can be moments of lightness, and that's part of what the group can help you experience too,” Miller said. “You don't necessarily think that people in there are laughing a lot, but they do. You find ways to laugh together and laugh through it, and that's worth everything.”
Miller says caregivers for Alzheimer's patients often lose a sense of self when the focus of their lives becomes a loved one.
“For someone who is a primary caregiver in the home and they don't have much support – which can be very hard to find – this community means the world, and is a place where they can have some semblance of themselves, some semblance of social interaction,” Miller said.
Miller is currently working on expanding the Georgetown group.
Dementia Support Delaware has more information on support for caregivers.
