Caring for someone living with dementia can bring new questions and challenges. Whether you are looking for information about a diagnosis, practical caregiving guidance, emotional support, or help planning for the future, many organizations offer resources for caregivers and families.
The resources below can help you learn about dementia and caregiving, find support, and plan for changing care needs.
Not Sure Where to Start?
These organizations offer broad information and support for people living with dementia and their caregivers.
Alzheimers.gov
A federal government resource with information about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Alzheimer's Association
Provides information about Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, as well as resources for people living with dementia and their caregivers.
National Institute on Aging
Provides free information and publications about aging, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, caregiving, and other health topics.
Family Caregiver Alliance
Offers information, education, care planning, support groups, research, and advocacy for family caregivers.
Caregiver Support and Community Services
California Caregiver Resource Centers
Provide information, education, respite care, care planning, and support for families and friends caring for adults with chronic or disabling health conditions.
Eldercare Locator
Connects older adults and their families with local services and resources. Eldercare Locator is a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging.
CaringBridge
Provides free websites that help people experiencing a significant health challenge share updates and stay connected with family and friends.
UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health
Offers materials developed through its Caregivers Project to support family caregivers of people living with serious illness.
Emotional Well-Being and Social Connection
Caring for someone living with dementia can affect emotional well-being and social connections. These resources offer information and support for older adults and caregivers experiencing loneliness, isolation, stress, or other emotional challenges.
Loneliness and Social Isolation — National Institute on Aging
Provides information about how loneliness and social isolation can affect physical and mental health, along with practical strategies for maintaining social connections and emotional well-being.
Friendship Line — Institute on Aging
Offers free, confidential emotional support by phone for older adults and caregivers experiencing loneliness, grief, anxiety, or emotional distress. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with support in multiple languages.
Caregiver Support Groups — Family Caregiver Alliance
Offers online and in-person support groups where family caregivers can connect with others, share experiences, and find emotional support. Groups include options for caregivers with different needs and circumstances.
Planning for Care and Managing Costs
Medicare
Provides information about the federal health insurance program for people age 65 and older and certain younger people who qualify.
Social Security
Provides information about Social Security programs, benefits, legislation, and related public resources.
Cal Long Term Care Compare
Provides information about long-term care options and quality ratings for providers in California.
PayingForSeniorCare.com
Helps families explore public and private programs that may help cover the costs of long-term care.
Health, Safety, and Emergency Planning
Disaster Preparedness for Alzheimer's Caregivers — National Institute on Aging
Offers guidance for creating an emergency plan that considers the needs of a person living with Alzheimer's disease.
Dementia and Driving — California Department of Motor Vehicles
Explains how dementia can affect driving safety and outlines California's procedures for evaluating driving ability, including medical assessments, driving tests, and possible license restrictions.
Recognizing Elder Abuse
Provides guidance on recognizing signs of elder abuse and situations in which an older adult may be experiencing harm or neglect.
Health in Aging
Provides health and aging information for older adults and caregivers from the American Geriatrics Society.
Hospice and Palliative Care
CaringInfo
Provides information and resources about serious illness, caregiving, advance care planning, hospice, and palliative care.
Resources for LGBTQ+ Older Adults
Openhouse
Provides housing support, direct services, and community programs for LGBTQ+ older adults in the San Francisco Bay Area.
SAGE
Provides advocacy, services, and resources for LGBTQ+ older adults.
Additional Health and Aging Resources
American Geriatrics Society
Provides professional and consumer information about health and aging.
Alzheimer's & Related Dementias Education & Referral Center<
Provides information about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias from the National Institute on Aging.
Research and Scientific Information
The following resources may be useful for people seeking scientific or medical literature. They are more technical than the caregiver resources above.
Alzheimer Research Forum
Provides news and information about Alzheimer's disease research, from basic science through clinical trials.
PubMed
A free database from the National Library of Medicine that provides citations and abstracts for biomedical and life sciences research.
Primers on Neuroanatomy, Neurophysiology, and Neuroimaging
Educational information about the structure and function of the brain and methods used to study it:
Additional Support
The UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, part of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, also offers information and resources to help people living with dementia and their families navigate care and caregiving.
Explore our caregiving and support resources to learn more about finding support, planning for changing needs, and caring for yourself while caring for someone else.