Alzheimer's Association in WilCo prepares for annual walk, asks for more Hispanic volunteers

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - The Alzheimer's Association in Williamson County is preparing for one of its biggest fundraising events of the year. It’s the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

On Friday, crews set up purple tents at Southwestern University, where the mile-and-a-half walk will take place.

For Shannon Eller, an organizer, this walk is personal.

"Both my great-grandmother and her daughter, my grandmother, had dementia and my mother is starting to show signs," said Eller, the development manager for the Williamson County Alzheimer's Association.

Saturday’s walk will raise money for local support groups and fund national research.

"It’s scary," said Eller. "As of today we do not have a cure. The best we can hope for is an early diagnosis and starting medication soon enough to keep the disease at bay."

Yoli Campos Smith, a clinical liaison at Astella Home Health and Hospice, will be among the attendees.

"Oh, a lot, here in Williamson County, especially in Georgetown, we have a significant number of seniors, and these days we’re seeing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia in much younger people," said Campos Smith.

Almost half a million Texans have Alzheimer's today, but Hispanic Americans are a population at high risk. Latinos are 1.5 times more likely to get the disease.

By 2060, researchers expect the total number of Latinos who have had it will reach 3.5 million.

"We have a higher risk of diabetes, hypertension, and those are factors that do affect Alzheimer’s," said Campos Smith.

That's why she hopes this walk will also encourage members of the local Hispanic community to volunteer.

"Somebody that looks like them, speaks like them, they're more willing to trust," said Campos Smith. "Just like, same thing, with veterans. Sometimes we have veteran people connect with veterans because they have that common denominator."

At the very least, this walk is a step closer to the end goal of ending Alzheimer’s.

"The more money we raise, the more awareness we raise, the closer we are to finding a cure," said Eller.

The walk begins at 9 a.m., on Saturday, Oct. 19, but registration begins as early as 7:30 a.m. More information can be found here.