About Us

ARARF’s Mission

Founded in 1995, the Alzheimer’s Research and Resource Foundation (ARARF) is a donor-supported 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to Alzheimer’s care and its research. The mission of ARARF is to develop and disseminate information that enables improved care for the underserved patient community afflicted by all forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, at no cost to caregivers.

Improving the Quality of Life for Alzheimer’s Patients

Knowledge and support are the keys to successful caregiving, and ARARF is dedicated to providing family and professional caregivers with resources and tools to cope with daily care challenges and ongoing struggles of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

ARARF educates and improves the lives of those in the Alzheimer’s community by providing The Alzheimer’s Caregiver® — a comprehensive program created for caregivers by dedicated experts in the field of Alzheimer’s research and care — free of charge. The Alzheimer’s Caregiver brings the knowledge and talent of internationally renowned physicians and other health care professionals to an overall underserved population. We believe access to this invaluable information enhances and improves quality of life for all dementia patients.

Improving the Quality of Life for Alzheimer’s Caregivers

Learning all you can about what is happening and what to expect on the Alzheimer’s journey will not only help your loved one, but is also the first step towards protecting your own mental and physical health. An estimated thirty to forty percent of dementia caregivers will experience depression, high levels of stress, or burnout, and nearly all Alzheimer’s or dementia caregivers will at some time experience sadness, anxiety, loneliness, and exhaustion.

The Alzheimer’s Caregiver was developed with the goal of empowering in-home caregivers with the skills and knowledge required to better serve their loved ones’ needs. With this scientifically backed information, caregivers can tackle challenges that go beyond the initial Alzheimer’s diagnosis and answer questions about hands-on care, dealing with changing conditions, and making your home environment as safe as possible.

Nearly 15.5 million Americans and 133.2 million people worldwide care for a person with Alzheimer’s. You are not alone.

ARARF’s History

In 1986, Thomas Elin’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She eventually was placed in a nursing home. During one of her lucid moments, she mused with her son about the possibility of a care facility like her home with kind staff, well-appointed rooms, and welcoming arms. Thomas made his mother’s request his life’s mission. In 1986, he embarked on the creation of the Alzheimer’s Caregiver, an educational training manual/encyclopedia dedicated solely to Alzheimer’s care, in affiliation with various universities around the country.

While on this creative quest, Mr. Elin had to deal with the constant merging of academic research with hands-on Alzheimer’s care in practical terms rather than theoretical long-term studies. Having understood the need to create a link between specialized patient care and scientific research and education, Mr. Elin created the Alzheimer’s Caregiver in order to bridge the gap between academic research and “hands-on” care. In addition to teaching theories to professional caregivers and Alzheimer’s families in classrooms, Mr. Elin and his colleagues spent years gaining day-to-day hands-on care experience, dealing with issues faced by real people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Mr. Elin, along with Catherine Harris, PhD, RNCS, worked tirelessly on the frontlines, tending to the behavioral, emotional, financial, physical, and mental well-being of Alzheimer’s and dementia sufferers and their families. They had a hand in every aspect of running care centers, from training professional caregivers and handling Alzheimer’s behavioral problems to consoling devastated families and dealing with severe staffing shortages.

Numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Aging were received to help fund ARARF’s research. ARARF continues to cultivate relationships with universities to both promote and obtain cutting-edge research being conducted in the area of dementia and Alzheimer’s care.