Community Engagement Forum with The Mama Joe Project

With support from Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers, UMSL Social Work, and the St. Louis Chapter of The Links Inc., "My Mama Joe, Hope & Help" will show as part of educational outreach called a Community Engagement Forum. The 1 hour documentary film which streams and broadcasts on the PBS platform, features the journey of a family caregiving for their matriarch as a person living with dementia. The film is part of The Mama Joe Project, an initiative focused on supporting caregivers, promoting healthy aging, and improving outcomes for families navigating Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.

Dementia is an umbrella term describing a set of conditions often marked by a progressive decline in memory and thinking to the level that interferes with daily or routine tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is a specific brain disease, and the most common type of dementia. The Mama Joe Project aims to raise awareness, and promote healthy aging, while destigmatizing care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia.

The documentary film, produced by local educator and creative Herb Caldwell, brings awareness to the growing issue of family caregiving and dementia by combining personal storytelling with best practice guidance from experts in the field representing Harvard University, The CDC, Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, AARP, Washington University in St. Louis, The Alzheimer’s Association and more. The Community Engagement Forum is Sunday June 7th 3pm-5pm in E. Desmond Lee and Mary Ann Lee Theater at Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of University of Missouri-St. Louis. Doors open at 1 p.m., where attendees can visit local organizations and agencies as part of the resource fair. The film starts promptly at 2 p.m. and concludes with audience Q&A featuring a panel of area experts in film themes like caregiving resources, dementia navigation, participation in research, use of insurance options and more.