All Souls Unitarian offers Alzheimer's support for LGBTQ community

All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa is hosting support groups for LGBTQ individuals and families affected by Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Reverend Randy Lewis said the effort stems from the church's mission of acceptance.

"We are a welcoming community," Lewis said. "The LGBTQ plus community has been, as you can imagine, alienated, ostracized from our larger conversation. We're seeing the need arise within the community, so we wanted to address that."

Unique Challenges For LGBTQ Families

Group facilitator Courtney Ivey said Alzheimer's and dementia pose unique challenges for LGBTQ families.

"I think there's an added element of worry for families," Ivey said. "Will they be judged based on how their family looks? For the most part, it's about that support that may be lacking from the general public."

How The Groups Work

Ivey said the support groups are informal and designed to make participants feel safe.

"We always talk about, you know, it's kind of like Vegas what happens at support group stays at support group," Ivey said. "We just talk about what's getting harder, who's affected by the disease, and what their part is, to create a supportive environment."

Lewis said the impact has already been clear.

"People keep coming back," he said. "I'm learning a lot from these individuals who are experiencing different levels of the effects of this disease."

Two Groups, One Mission

All Souls offers two groups: one for the LGBTQ community and another open to everyone.

"We have a mature population in our church and a number of families who are experiencing this," Lewis said. "It’s really brought some life to the community and some energy around this really important issue."

Ivey added that the group is open to anyone.

"I'm not a member of the church, and to be able to come into their space and host this is huge," she said. "For years, we've been trying to get an LGBTQ-specific group off the ground, and they provided us the space to do so."

Meeting Times

The LGBTQ-specific support group meets at 4:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of every month. The general group meets at 1:30 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month. Both take place in the church's Thoreau Lounge.

The Walk to End Alzheimer's takes place on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Dream Keeper Park. The event starts at 7:30 a.m. and the walk starts at 9 a.m.

You can register for the event here.