Alzheimer's Awareness Month benefit

Skagit Adult Day Program, a local nonprofit which cares for dementia clients, is showing the Academy Award winning movie “The Father” 7 p.m. Wednesday Nov. 15 at the Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon. This is a community awareness opportunity, in honor of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and Caregiver Month and a fundraiser. The public is invited.

Anthony Hopkins, who won the Best Actor Award in 2020 for this role, heartbreakingly portrays the father experiencing dementia. Olivia Colman, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, is his caregiving daughter. Their relationship struggles as his world disintegrates into a labyrinth of experiences and her exhaustion increases.

Admission is by donation at the door. The movie is 97 minutes long and will be followed by a short video “A Day in the Life of Bradford House,” highlighting the work of Skagit Adult Day Program.

There are over six million people in the United States currently dealing with this diagnosis and just as many caregivers struggling with the obligations of the journey.

Skagit Adult Day Program provides socialization, therapeutic exercise, meals, games and music to allow their clients a safe home-like setting for up to five hours a day. At the same time, their caregivers receive respite during which they can tend to their own health and well-being. In addition, SADP offers two caregiver support groups at the Burlington Senior Center on the second and fourth Wednesdays, 1:30-3 p.m. and a Lunch & Learn opportunity the last Monday of the month at 12 p.m. Providing support and education to caregivers is vital for their survival.

Contact [email protected] for information about the availability for care or financial support opportunities.