BETHEL – Two educational meetings for family and friends of people with dementia, or memory loss, will be held at the West Parish Congregational Church, Church Street, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturdays, Oct. 13 and 20.

The programs are part of the fall To Your Health series presented by Western Mountains Senior College, SAD 44 Community Education, Bethel Family Health Center and the Maine Alzheimer’s Association and will help people learn the facts and myths about Alzheimer’s disease.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are more than 1,250 people with Alzheimer’s disease in Oxford County. Peg Gagnon, information and outreach for the Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter, who will present the programs, said, “Education helps break down the barriers so that as a community we can better support the very people who need us the most.”

“Time and time again,” said Gagnon, “caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease talk about their sense of isolation.” Many men and women speak of friends they once had who no longer visit since their loved one’s diagnosis, she said.

“If you are one of those people who don’t really know what to say or do or wonder what you might do to help, the series will respond to these and other questions in the most compassionate way possible,” said Gagnon.

Topics in the Oct. 13 workshop will include what is involved in the diagnosis of dementia, stages of dementia of the Alzheimer’s type and what happens and what to expect.

Topics on Oct. 20 will include what is must be like to have Alzheimer’s disease, easy ways to communicate and spend time with a person with dementia and how little is needed to make life better for a caregiver.

The public is invited and admission is free.

However, donations are appreciated to offset Senior College expenses.

For more information, contact one of the co-chairs, R. Tifft at 824-2053 or W. Iseman at 824-8610. Questions about the Maine Alzheimer’s Association can be directed to Gagnon at 1-800-660-2871.