For over four decades, the Alzheimer's Disease Association of Kern County, Inc. (ADAKC) has shown up for our community: supporting families, celebrating our seniors, and working to make dementia care more compassionate. This year, we're stepping into an exciting new chapter that will allow us to do even more. 

 

The need for dementia and Alzheimer’s support is enormous. Dementia affects thousands of families in our region, and the emotional toll on caregivers is real and often invisible. We realized that instead of being tethered to a single location, we need to be everywhere, meeting people where they are, building partnerships across the county, training healthcare workers, and creating a stronger support network for every single family facing dementia. 

 

Kern County’s demographics and geography contribute to the devastating impact this disease has on our region. We're majority Latino, with significant rural communities in Tehachapi, Delano, and beyond. Dementia hits these families hard, not just emotionally, but culturally. In many Latino families, caring for an aging parent is a deep responsibility, often falling on one daughter or daughter-in-law. The weight of that expectation, combined with limited access to resources and sometimes language barriers with healthcare providers, creates a perfect storm. Rural families face it differently: fewer services, longer drives, isolation. A Bakersfield-based day program couldn't touch any of that. 

 

In April, ADAKC closed our adult day program and launched a model designed to reach every corner of Kern County. It's built around five core areas: 

 

We're building something bigger, more resilient, and more responsive to what Kern County actually needs. If a daughter in Delano is the sole caregiver for her mother and doesn't speak English fluently, she can now access navigation services in Spanish, close to home. If a rural family in Tehachapi is navigating dementia without knowing where to start, we're there, not asking them to drive an hour to find help. When a healthcare worker at a county clinic wants to understand their Latino patients' families better, to honor the cultural weight of caregiving, they can get that training here. 

 

We're building something bigger, more resilient, and more responsive to what Kern County, our Kern County, with all its diversity and geography, actually needs. 

 

As we move forward, one thing is clearer than ever: You don't have to navigate this alone. Whether you're a family caregiver, a healthcare professional, a business owner, or someone who simply cares about making our community more compassionate, there's a place for you in this work. 

 

 

Here's to a more connected, compassionate Kern County. We're just getting started!