Each month, we’re featuring an advocate who engages with policymakers to ensure priorities that improve the lives of people impacted by Alzheimer’s and all other dementia remain top-of-mind in Congress.

When Cedric Howard of Ohio saw his mom Minnie caring for two family members while they were living with Alzheimer’s — her sister Doris and mother Gussie — he knew he needed to help. 

One day, while Cedric was visiting his aunt in her nursing home, he heard his mom’s name being called over the intercom. When Cedric arrived at his aunt’s room, he asked Minnie, who was retired, if she had started working there. “She said ‘No I’m not working here, but this is what I want to do. I’m going to be here every day,’” said Cedric. Minnie was not only caring for her sister, but she was also becoming a calming and familiar face to the other residents. 

With two loved ones living with Alzheimer’s, Cedric saw firsthand the different stages and complexity of the disease. “The worst part about the disease is your loved ones are here physically, but they’re not here [mentally],” said Cedric. “I could see my aunt. She was beautiful, my mom really took care of her. But she couldn’t speak anymore… and my grandmother could speak and even read. We’d take her for a ride and she read all the signs and knew where she was, but she would not eat…She forgot how to eat.”

Even with his mother Minnie’s seemingly boundless energy, their family was having trouble navigating the challenges of the disease and identifying resources. Seeing how much Minnie was taking on, Cedric knew he had to take action. “I said to myself, ‘What can I do to help my mother out?’”

Cedric reached out to the Alzheimer’s Association for information, not knowing the interaction would set him on a path to becoming an advocate and joining the fight against Alzheimer’s and all other dementia.

In the years since his aunt and grandmother’s Alzheimer’s journey, Cedric has carried on his mother’s dedication to helping others and become more involved with the fight to end Alzheimer’s and other dementia. For years he’s attended the Alzheimer’s Association state advocacy day in Columbus.

“I really enjoy getting together with our advocates from around the state,” said Cedric. “It’s great to know that you’re in good company. Everybody who’s there is there for the cause. We’re there to support each other, and we’re there to seek funding and more support from our [state legislators].” 

This year, Cedric attended the AIM Advocacy Forum in Washington, D.C., for the first time. Utilizing his background as a health care outreach professional for Oak Street Health, Cedric urged his members of Congress to support the bipartisan Accelerating Access to Dementia & Alzheimer’s Provider Training (AADAPT) Act. During the congressional meetings, Cedric emphasized the importance of empowering primary care providers to better diagnose Alzheimer’s and other dementia and deliver high-quality, person-centered care in community-based settings.

“My passion and my purpose is to help other people and shrink that gap of information. Sometimes when people are having health care issues, you don’t know where to go, you don’t know who to call. I’m trying to be that connector to lead people to those resources.”

For Cedric, the fight against the disease that took two of his family members goes beyond grassroots advocacy. He’s a member of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Miami Valley and Dayton Area Chapter Board in Ohio and sits on its diversity council. He also enjoys putting together and participating in fundraising events like The Longest Day. 

“I did a cornhole tournament this past spring,” said Cedric. “It’s fun. I drew maybe 40 or 50 people out there, and we had a round robin tournament. It raised a couple thousand dollars. It’s great bringing people together for this cause.”

Cedric has also worked with a team to head up a golf outing for over 10 years, with all the proceeds going to the local chapter. “I met some great people, and I have some great support [in organizing the event],” said Cedric.

Additionally, Cedric works on a fundraising dinner with a keynote speaker each March around the “March Madness” college basketball tournament, which starts in Dayton, Ohio with the First Four. The First Four are the four games played earlier in the week before the Round of 64 in the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournament. Cedric’s event has featured several professional players as keynote speakers, including former Los Angeles Lake A. C. Green.

In 2018, Cedric became involved with the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. He’s recently been working to help connect the fraternity with the Alzheimer’s Association’s advocacy efforts. 

“Alpha Phi Alpha does fantastic work in advocacy and community involvement,” said Cedric. “I always say that it takes a team, a lot of collaboration and teamwork, to yield the success that you want. I think [working together] is very important to be successful in this life.”

“I want to defeat Alzheimer’s. It’s undefeated, but I know we’re headed in the right direction,” said Cedric. “I don’t want anybody else to go through what my family’s been through.”

Learn more about how you can join the team that’s working to defeat Alzheimer’s and other dementia by becoming an advocate like Cedric.