Los Angeles is home to more than 20 unique Asian communities and has similarly diverse groups of Pacific Islander communities. Each Asian and Pacific Islander community celebrates its own culture, language, history, and varies in levels of acculturation as well as socioeconomic levels. To address the already complex needs of dementia care and language, Alzheimer’s Los Angeles relies heavily on our partners in the community to help implement specific outreach to this broad group of linguistically and culturally diverse communities.

The Asian and Pacific Islander Dementia Care Network was originally established in 2000 and was primarily focused on Chinese and Japanese families. Since then, the API Dementia Care Network continues to meet regularly to discuss community challenges and share successes. Its members consist of both volunteers and community partners, from various professional and cultural backgrounds, who are interested in serving and helping the API community to better address the barriers of dementia brought on by inherent feelings of shame, inherited stigmas, and language limitations affecting access to care.

To learn more about the Asian and Pacific Islander Dementia Care Network, or find out how to attend a meeting, contact Kristy Huang-Arai at khuang@alzla.org, 323.930.6257