The Alzheimer’s Association is the only national voluntary health organization dedicated to research, and to providing support and assistance to people with Alzheimer’s disease, their families and caregivers. The Alzheimer’s Association is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization founded in 1980. The Maine Chapter is one of over 200 chapters in the U.S.
The Maine Alzheimer’s Association serves the entire State of Maine (Aroostook, Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc, Somerset, Waldo, Washington and York Counties) from its Portland office. We estimate that there are approximately 30,000 families in Maine who are affected by Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia.
The mission of the Maine Alzheimer’s Association is to serve as a resource and provide information and services to persons with Alzheimer’s disease, their families and caregivers, educate the public and professionals about Alzheimer’s disease, advocate on behalf of people with Alzheimer’s disease, and support research into its treatment, cure, cause and prevention. The Maine Chapter serves the entire state and the approximately 30,000 families in Maine who are directly affected by Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia.
The Association’s mission is carried out by: offering patient and family services to aid those affected by the disease;
educating and informing the public and healthcare professionals;
advocating for research funding and legislative support for families;
and investigating cause, prevention, treatment and cure for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.
The Maine Alzheimer's Association was incorporated in 1987. The founder was Marilyn Paige, whose husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1981. Like others whose loved ones become ill with Alzheimer’s, Marilyn felt as though she needed help in assuming her new role as caregiver. Unable to find a support network, she started a support group of her own in February 1982, which met at the United Methodist Church in West Scarborough. With a little publicity in the local newspapers, the number of people in her support group soon reached twenty-five.
By 1984, there were 14 support groups in Maine and an organization was beginning to develop. In the same year, Paige founded the Maine Alzheimer’s Disease Association. In 1987, the organization became affiliated with the National Alzheimer’s Association and was incorporated as the Maine Alzheimer's Association . In 1992, the Chapter opened its first office in Scarborough, moving its base of operations from Marilyn Paige’s home, and in 1993, a part-time Executive Director, the Chapter’s first, was hired. The office was relocated to Portland in 1995 and a full-time Executive Director was hired in January, 1996.