Dementia Support Groups: How to Find One Near You

Caring for someone with dementia is a long job, and most of it falls on family. The Alzheimer's Association reports that nearly 13 million Americans provide unpaid care for a family member or friend with dementia, and that 59 percent of dementia caregivers report high to very high emotional stress.

The Association lists ten symptoms of caregiver stress, among them denial, anger, anxiety, exhaustion, sleeplessness and social withdrawal from friends and activities that used to feel good. Its advice for avoiding burnout includes finding a support group near you for connection and guidance, and connecting with other caregivers who relate to your experience.

A group will not take tasks off your list. What it gives you is a room, or a call, full of people who already understand, and who have often solved the problem you are facing this week.

Support groups now come in several forms. The Alzheimer's Association says its groups are held virtually or in person, are led by peers or by professionals, and include specialized groups in many places for children, people with younger-onset or early-stage Alzheimer's, adult caregivers and others with specific needs.

Telephone groups suit caregivers who cannot leave the house or who do not use video. Online message boards suit people who want to read and post at any hour, at their own pace. Many caregivers use more than one: a monthly group in person and an online community for the nights in between.

If you are not sure which fits, try one meeting of each. Many groups are free, and it is fine to only listen the first time.

Start with the Alzheimer's Association. Its support group page lists local and virtual groups, and its Helpline at 800-272-3900 answers day or night, every day of the year. The Association says Helpline staff can give information, local resources, crisis assistance and emotional support, with bilingual staff or an interpreter service covering more than 200 languages.

The Community Resource Finder, made available by the Alzheimer's Association and AARP, lets you search programs and services by city or ZIP code. The Association notes that it is an informational tool and that listings should be checked directly with each provider.

Your local Area Agency on Aging is another route. The Eldercare Locator, a public service of the Administration for Community Living, connects older adults and families to services in their community. You can search at eldercare.acl.gov or call or text 1-800-677-1116.

The Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) runs free support groups led by its social workers. Its general caregiver group meets by telephone on Tuesdays from 7 to 8 pm Eastern; to register, AFA asks callers to contact the facilitator at 866-232-8484 on Sundays from 9 am to 5 pm or Tuesdays from 5 to 9 pm Eastern. AFA's Helpline, at the same number, is staffed by social workers seven days a week from 9 am to 9 pm Eastern.

The Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) hosts a Caregiver Online Support Group by email, for families and partners caring for adults with Alzheimer's, stroke, brain injury and other conditions. You can take part one message at a time or in a daily digest. FCA also hosts an online group for LGBTQ+ caregivers.

The Alzheimer's Association runs ALZConnected, a free online community and message board where people living with dementia, caregivers, family members and friends can ask questions, get advice and find support.

Some dementias bring problems that a general group may not see often. Families caring for someone with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) can call the HelpLine of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) at 1-866-507-7222 to ask about FTD support groups.

For Lewy body dementia, the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) keeps a page of local support groups, and its Lewy Line at 800-539-9767 is the number to call for support services.

If the person was diagnosed before 65, ask the Alzheimer's Association about younger-onset groups. Our early-onset dementia care guide covers what changes when the person is still of working age.

Caring for a husband, wife or partner is different from caring for a parent, and many spouses prefer a group of other spouses. AFA runs a caregiver support group by telephone for spouses and partners on Mondays from 7 to 8 pm Eastern, and a Zoom group for family members, spouses and partners whose loved one lives in a care setting. Both were listed as at capacity when we checked in November 2026, so ask to be added to the list.

Local Alzheimer's Association chapters also run specialized groups in many areas. Ask the Helpline whether there is a spouse group near you, or a virtual one you can join from home.

A memory cafe is a social gathering rather than a support group. Dementia Friendly America, which runs a national Memory Cafe Directory, describes memory cafes as places where people experiencing cognitive challenges, along with family members, friends and professional caregivers, can find meaningful programming, friendship and acceptance.

Because the person with dementia comes too, a memory cafe can be an outing you share rather than one more appointment. Search the directory by location, and call ahead, since times and formats change.

If the person you care for is a veteran, the VA Caregiver Support Program can help. Its Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274 is open Monday to Friday from 8 am to 8 pm Eastern, and its website has a locator to find your local Caregiver Support Team.

The program also offers Peer Support Mentoring and other coaching for caregivers. Our guide to the VA Caregiver Support Program explains who qualifies and what each part offers.

Before you go, ask who the group is for (caregivers, people living with dementia, or both), how often it meets, whether it is led by a professional or by peers, and whether you can drop in or need to register. At the first meeting it is fine to listen and say nothing. If a group does not suit you, try another; they differ a great deal.

A group helps with the feelings and the problem solving. It cannot give you hours back. The Alzheimer's Association describes respite care as a temporary rest from caregiving while the person continues to receive care in a safe environment, and suggests scheduling it. Our guides to adult day care for dementia and to dementia companion care cover two common ways to get those hours.

If the signs of stress are there most days, the Alzheimer's Association advises making time to talk to your doctor. If you would like help at home, Dementia In Home is a non-medical service that sends 3 video profiles of caregivers with dementia experience within 48 hours, free. Call (689) 333-6079.