Paint Clover Purple

10/19/2026

10/19/2026

For our UK friends; Please pass along;

if you are in the UK can I encourage you to share this petition and send it on through your networks please.

On Tuesday 20th October , Rachel Thompson, the Lewy Body Society-funded Consultant Specialist Admiral Nurse for Lewy body dementia, will represent us at the Department of Health and Social Care as a petition calling for NHS continuing healthcare (CHC) funding to be reviewed and fixed is handed in.

Almost than 27,000 people have signed the petition, organised by Dementia UK with support from 13 charities, including the Lewy Body Society.

CHC can fund a complete package of care for people with significant, ongoing health needs. We are calling for a fairer, more consistent process that recognises complex needs, includes condition-specific expertise and gives families support as they navigate assessments.

There is still time to add your name to the petition: https://action.dementiauk.org/fix-nhs-continuing-healthcare

NHS continuing healthcare (CHC) funding can be a lifeline for people with long-term complex health needs and their unpaid carers in England. But many families are missing out this vital funding because the assessment process is flawed. It doesn’t have to be this way. The Casey Commission are curre...

10/18/2026

You Are Not Alone. Find Your People.

As the leaves change this fall, one thing remains the same: our need for friendship, understanding, and a place to belong.
Living with early-stage dementia brings changes that can feel overwhelming. Having people beside you who understand can make a difference.
Every Tuesday, our Silver Lining Peer-to-Peer Support Group comes together on Zoom to share, laugh, listen, and encourage one another. It is a welcoming, judgment-free space where you can be yourself without having to explain every forgotten word or moment of frustration.
Together, we talk about:
💜 Changes we are noticing in our lives
💜 Practical ways to manage everyday challenges
💜 Memory aids and tools that help us
💜 Maintaining independence while accepting support
💜 Finding joy, purpose, and connection

There is no pressure to speak or find the perfect words. Whether you want to share your story or simply listen, you belong here.
As someone living with dementia, I learn from our members every week. Sometimes a small suggestion makes daily life a little easier. Sometimes a shared laugh or a simple “me too” reminds us that we are understood. Every person brings something valuable to our group.

📅 Silver Lining Peer-to-Peer Support Group
🕚 Every Tuesday at 11:00 AM Eastern
💻 On Zoom
👥 For people living with early-stage dementia
💜 Facilitated by Laurie Waters, Founder & President of Paint Clover Purple Dementia Association

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KcERfBQsTJiICZwMV3Omtw

Please share this invitation with someone who could use a little connection and encouragement. You never know who may be waiting to hear, “There is a place for you here.”
Come as you are. You are welcome. You matter.
Find Your People. 💜

10/17/2026

The Little Things: Living with Dementia
By Laurie Waters
Episode 43: Redefining What Is Possible

When you see a photograph of me speaking at a conference, you see an advocate sharing her story. What you may not see is the support that helped me get there—or how much it means to have my voice included.

This past week, I attended the Redefine the Possible Memory Care Summit, held October 13–14 at The Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, and hosted by Trilogy Health Services’ Memory Care Center of Excellence.

A special thank-you to my sister Cheryl, who accompanied me as my care partner and helped make my participation possible. 💜

The summit focused on something close to my heart: seeing dementia differently, recognizing our abilities, challenging assumptions, and expanding what is possible for people living with dementia.

For me, those words are personal.

I live with dementia every day. I also live with visual loss, difficulty finding words, and the need for help with things that once came easily. Those challenges come with me when I travel. They do not disappear when I stand before an audience.

But neither do my purpose, my experiences, or my ability to contribute.

Needing support does not take away what we have to offer. Sometimes, support is exactly what makes our participation possible.

During the summit, I shared my presentation, “I AM STILL HERE: Seeing the Person Before the Diagnosis.”

That message belongs in every care community, hospital room, medical appointment, and family conversation.

Before you see a diagnosis, see a person with a history, relationships, preferences, and feelings. Someone who still wants choices. Someone who wants to be spoken with, listened to, and included.

Someone whose life still holds meaning.

I was honored to be among the summit’s speakers:

• Leigh Ann Barney, CEO of Trilogy Health Services, speaker and host
• Jean Hartnett, founder of Radical Sabbatical
• Dr. Louis Stokes, University of Sheffield Neuroscience Institute
• Tammy Evanow, Norton Neuroscience Institute
• Dr. Rachel Hart, Norton Neuroscience Institute
• Bill Yeates, educator, advocate, and person living with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease
• Cara Skrypchuk, Vice President, Trilogy’s Memory Care Center of Excellence
• Jowita “Joy” Matura Barbeau, Memory Care Director, Brooksby Village, Erickson Senior Living
• David Troxel, co-creator of the Best Friends Approach to Dementia Care
• Laurie Waters, Founder and President of Paint Clover Purple Dementia Association and Co-Founder of Walking the Talk for Dementia Institute

Bringing together lived experience, research, clinical knowledge, and care experience creates opportunities to learn from one another and carry those lessons into everyday life.

Our lived experience belongs in the conversations that shape our support.

At the end of the conference, I was also honored to participate as a panelist in a Business First panel discussion. Having a place in that conversation mattered to me. When ideas and decisions concern our lives, we need opportunities to contribute our experiences, questions, and hopes.

Looking through the photographs, I see more than presentations and panels. I see conversations around a table, shared smiles, and opportunities to connect. Meaningful life includes friendship, laughter, belonging, and having something to look forward to.

Thank you to Leigh Ann, Cara, the Trilogy team, my fellow speakers, and everyone who participated for making space for these conversations and including my voice.

My hope is that these discussions continue in everyday care: offering a choice, allowing time for an answer, noticing an ability, and asking what matters to the person in front of you.

Those may seem like little things. For someone living with dementia, they can change the whole experience of a day.

We are still here. We still have something to give. And with understanding and support, there is still so much possible. 💜

10/10/2026

💜 The Little Things: Living with Dementia, By Laurie Waters
Episode 42: It Really Does Take a Village

When you see me speaking at a conference or taking part in a roundtable, you see me sharing my story. What you may not see are the people who help make it possible for me to be there.

I cannot fly alone. Ricky does not fly, so my family and friends step in to help me continue doing the advocacy work that means so much to me.

As I write this, my sister Cheryl is flying from New Hampshire to South Carolina so she can accompany me to Kentucky for a conference this coming week. Before our trip even begins, she is making a trip of her own to be here for me. She has also traveled with me to Kraków, Poland, and Washington, D.C.

My daughter Jessica has joined me twice in Spain for Walking the Talk for Dementia, as well as in Italy, Portugal, Florida and other places. Sharing those experiences with her means more than I can put into words.

My friend Dawn Helms has accompanied me to Spain, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. In two weeks, she will be beside me again as we take the train to Hillsborough, North Carolina, for Teepa Snow’s Gala.

My daughter in love Amanda, has gone with me to D.C and Florida, keeping me on track.

Shon Lowe has traveled with me to France, D.C., and Atlanta.

Fernando Aguzzoli-Peres has supported me during travels to Florida, Pennsylvania, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and other places.

Greg Holmes has accompanied me to Columbia several times to speak to our South Carolina legislature.

Jamie Guay accompanied me to Washington, DC for a 24 hour turnaround so I could speak at The Research Roundtable, and also to Teeps Snow Conferences.

It really does take a village. And I am so grateful for mine.

These are more than names and destinations. These are people who give their time, rearrange their lives, and help me navigate situations that I cannot manage alone.

There is another side to traveling with dementia that the audience may never see: needing help with clothing or medication, becoming overwhelmed, struggling to find a word, or reading a menu and then forgetting what I wanted when the waiter arrives.

The people beside me see those moments. They give me time, reassurance, and support so I can keep going.

That is why caregiver and care partner support matters so much. Support helps us stay involved in the things that give our lives meaning. For one person, that may be speaking at a conference. For another, it may be attending church, visiting family, enjoying an outing, or continuing a favorite activity. Every one of those things matters.

And the people supporting us need support, too. Their time, energy, and needs deserve care and recognition. Sometimes a little thing—asking how they are doing, offering a helping hand, or giving them time to rest—can mean so much.

When people living with dementia participate in conference sessions, roundtables, and conversations with legislators, we bring our lived experience into the room. People can hear directly from us, ask questions, and better understand both our challenges and what we can still do with the right assistance.

To Ricky, Cheryl, Jessica, Dawn, Shon, Fernando, Greg, Jamie, Amanda, and all the family and friends who help me along the way: thank you. I see the effort you make. I know this support takes planning, patience, and time away from your own lives. I am deeply grateful.

When you see me standing on a stage, please know that a circle of love and support helped me get there.

Yes, we have a diagnosis. But the diagnosis does not have us.

And with our village beside us, there is still so much life to live. 💜

10/04/2026

💜 The Little Things: Living with Dementia, By Laurie Waters
Episode 42: Why I Started Paint Clover Purple

In 2019, I founded Paint Clover Purple because I knew firsthand how much connection and support matter when you are living with dementia. As its Founder and President, it means so much to me to see that vision grow through the people who have joined us and the community we continue to build together.

I wanted to create a place where people could speak honestly, feel understood, celebrate the good days, and find support through the difficult ones. A place where we could remind one another that we still belong. We have continued this group every week supporting individuals throughout the United States and abroad.

For me, the most important thing we do is our Silver Lining Peer-to-Peer Support Group. It is the heart of Paint Clover Purple and the reason this work means so much to me.

Each and every week, I learn from our participants. We share helpful suggestions for navigating everyday life with dementia, from different ways to manage medication to using a checklist for the shower. These may sound like little things, but they can make a tremendous difference in our confidence and independence.
Everyone brings something valuable. Sometimes we need advice. Sometimes we need a laugh. Sometimes we simply need someone to say, “I understand.”

Our group has become a family. I want to thank every participant for helping create that family. Your honesty, kindness, ideas, and willingness to show up for one another mean more than you know. You help me, too.

💜 The support that makes our work possible
Paint Clover Purple relies on donations to survive and continue helping people living with dementia.
Those donations help us purchase adult care products, supplies for art projects, gifts, and books. We also support Walking the Talk for Dementia (WTD).

Behind each item is a person. An adult care product can help someone maintain comfort and dignity. An art project can bring creativity and connection. A gift or book can remind someone that they are remembered and valued.
Every donation helps us keep showing up for our community. To everyone who has supported this work through donations, time, or encouragement....thank you. 💜

💜 Support for the whole journey
I also want to recognize Jamie A. Guay, my advisor, technical support, mentor, and an important part of our peer-to-peer group.

At Silver Lining Counseling, Jamie offers a Dementia Intensive;
a specialized consultation service designed for individuals, couples, families, and caregivers seeking expert guidance on navigating the complexities of cognitive decline.
Drawing on specialized training and experience supporting those affected by dementia, this intensive provides practical strategies, education, resources, and a clear path forward.
Jamie A. Guay, BS-Psychology, MMFT, LMFT-A
Silver Lining Counseling
Greenville, South Carolina

💜 You do not have to do this alone
Whether you are living with Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body dementia, vascular dementia, another form of dementia, or mild cognitive impairment, you deserve support and connection.

Our Silver Lining Peer-to-Peer Support Group meets on Zoom every Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

If you know someone who needs support, please send them our way. To learn about joining our group or supporting Paint Clover Purple with a donation, contact me at [email protected].
Sometimes the little thing that changes your life is finding someone who understands.

Find Your People. 💜
Laurie Waters
Founder & President, Paint Clover Purple

09/21/2026

With Heather Thomas – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉