You are never too old or too young to be an advocate. College freshman, Matt Perkowitz is an active advocate for our chapter. Read more about Matt and his passion for our cause.
You are never too old, or too young to be an advocate. Eighteen-year-old college freshman, Matt Perkowitz, is an active advocate for our chapter. He tells us about his experience and why more people should register to be an advocate.
How did you get involved with the Alzheimer’s Association?
My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when I was ten years old. Throughout the following years I had developed responsibilities that no child should have. While other children were being raised by their fathers, I had to take care of mine. And when no other family member was around, I had to ensure that he was safe and calm. All this happened before I could even call myself a teenager. I got involved a few years after he was put in my nursing home, and it was my mother who inspired me. She knew I was interested in politics, and since at that point she was involved with Alzheimer’s policy, she saw an opportunity for me to pursue my interest. She arranged a lunch with people from the Association. We all got along well and their passion along with my mother’s encouragement inspired me to get more involved with the Association. The people at the Association were not just people I wanted to work with, they were people I enjoyed spending time with.
How did you get involved with Advocacy?
My mother had been going to the national forum for a few years, and I always noticed she came back with a noticeable excitement. She seemed very fulfilled by the experience, and after she encouraged me to go and I could afford to be absent from school for a few days, I decided that it was something I could find fulfillment in too. And to say that I have would be an understatement.
Why is it important to be an Advocate?
It is important to be an Advocate – a young advocate in particular – because in order to inspire societal and political support for the issue, there has to be people telling their stories. It is so easy for people who do not understand the disease to dismiss it as one that affects only older people who are far past their prime. The reality is far from it. It’s not just something that affects your grandfather. It’s not just something that affected my father. In a way, we all suffer from it. So many people have to put their lives on hold in order to take care of their husband, wife, father, mother, friend, etc. The disease trickles down through networks of people and fundamentally diminishes and destroys lives and relationships. A child should be embarrassed by his father’s bad sense of humor, not by his father asking strangers where his wife is. We can change the narrative, but in order to do so, we have to be advocates.
What surprised you the most about being an Advocate?
It never feels like a job or something I have to get out of my way to be. I love working with the other advocates, not just because we are productive, but because we all get along as friends. They are the kinds of people I want to spend my free time with.
What has been your favorite experience as an Advocate?
Going to “the hill”! Seeing advocates share their stories and establish connections with politicians truly inspires me to do the same. And it’s just fun!
Would you encourage other people to sign up to be Advocate? Why?
Of course! The most important fact that needs to be understood by anyone considering being an advocate is that their voice really does matter. We are not politicians, we are galvanizers. And in order to galvanize, we all need to come together and make our contribution to the narrative against Alzheimer’s.
What are you hoping to accomplish by being an Advocate?
I want to play my part in curing Alzheimer’s. For most advocates, I feel that is really what it boils down to. When I am older, I want young people to be hearing about it in history class – not health class.
Anything else you want to say about Alzheimer’s Association/Advocacy program?
If there has been any redeeming factor from my experience of having a father with Alzheimer’s, it has been finding the Alzheimer’s Association and getting involved in Advocacy.
http://www.optimumseniorcare.com/services/alzheimerscare.php