SCARBOROUGH, Maine - An agency that seeks to improve the well-being of older adults in southern Maine has received almost $1 million from the federal government to develop a collaborative effort to benefit people with dementia, their families and caregivers.
The Southern Maine Agency on Aging says the Southern Maine Dementia Service Network will expand caregiver services, training and other support, both at SMAA and at other area organizations.
"The 10 grants that were awarded in the country were awarded to organizations that have already achieved a certain level of dementia capability," says SMAA planner Susan Dewitt-Wilder. "What they want from us is to create programs and models that are sustainable - financially sustainable - that can be replicated throughout the country."
Dewitt-Wilder says the grant has three focuses: identifying and serving people living alone with dementia, and those with intellectual disabilities who are aging into dementia, and also extending the support already provided to the family caregivers of people living with dementia.
