Mr. Carmen DiBenedetto retired from the Brigantine Police Department after 32 years, has found the per­fect way to stay busy and helpful in Atlantic County: as a singer for the choir of The Church of the Assumption in Pomona. There, he heard about a program just started by the county he lives in to help caregivers of Alzheimer’s or dementia patients. He was the first one to fill out the request for volunteer form. Like every­body else, he had to go through criminal background check (fin­gerprints) and completed his one-day training with the Alzheimer Association. He was now ready for the Project S.A.V.E. (Service Assistance through Volunteers for the Elderly) and helps the family he has been placed with once a week.

Ms. Palmina Camano had filled a Request for Caregiver Respite Services with FSA last June in order to get help caring for Alessandro (her 86 years old father with Alzheimer’s) and is thrilled to have Carmen now part of her family.

This successful linkage is the kind of partnership FSA tries to multiply in order to give caregivers a complete feeling of community and to help with the tremendous burden Alzheimer’s disease represents. By 2050 the number of Americans having this disease could range from 11.3 to 16 millions.

If you know about anybody in need of this service or willing to volunteer, Please call!

Veronique Hirt-Battschinger
Project S.A.V.E. coordinator for Family Service Association
At (609) 569 0239 ext 1148