2025 Walk to End Alzheimer's -
Jacksonville, FL📅Sunday, November 9, 2025📍Location: UNF J.B. Coxwell Amphitheater-1 UNF Drive Jacksonville, FL 32224⏰Registration 1:00 PM -
Ceremony 2:00 PM📝2025 Walk to End Alzheimer's - Jacksonville, FLAlzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging – it is a progressive brain disease that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior.There’s no cure for Alzheimer’s yet, but thanks to research, new treatments can slow the disease’s progression in its early stages—giving families more time with their loved ones.
The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research programs. Join families from across Jacksonville on Sunday, Nov. 9 at UNF for Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
While there is no fee to register for Walk, all participants are encouraged to raise critical funds that allow the Alzheimer’s Association to provide care and support services to Florida families facing Alzheimer’s and other dementia, including a 24/7 Helpline at 800.272.3900 and resource right website at alz.org.
#Walk2EndAlz #ENDALZ
Jacksonville, FL📅Sunday, November 9, 2025📍Location: UNF J.B. Coxwell Amphitheater-1 UNF Drive Jacksonville, FL 32224⏰Registration 1:00 PM -
Ceremony 2:00 PM📝2025 Walk to End Alzheimer's - Jacksonville, FLAlzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging – it is a progressive brain disease that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior.There’s no cure for Alzheimer’s yet, but thanks to research, new treatments can slow the disease’s progression in its early stages—giving families more time with their loved ones.
The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research programs. Join families from across Jacksonville on Sunday, Nov. 9 at UNF for Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
While there is no fee to register for Walk, all participants are encouraged to raise critical funds that allow the Alzheimer’s Association to provide care and support services to Florida families facing Alzheimer’s and other dementia, including a 24/7 Helpline at 800.272.3900 and resource right website at alz.org.
#Walk2EndAlz #ENDALZ
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to community viewpoints. Is Shawnee feeling blessed and highly
favored On this Sunday morning, we are empowering our community
shining a light on Alzheimer's. We have a very big
Walk to End Alzheimer's Jacksonville and today I have Damien
May with the Alzheimer's Association Jacksonville. Good morning, Damien, how
(00:21):
are you?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Good morning? I am great? How are you? You know?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I can't complain. I am here to help the community
understand a disease that has a lot of questions. So Damon,
if you would please introduce yourself tell us why you
got involved in Walk to End Alzheimer's.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Absolutely hy, Damien May. I have been working with the
Alzheimer's Association here in Central and North Florida for he's
well over ten years. I will say myself, I'm actually
a pharmacist and a health economist, and I got involved
in Alzheimer's for a pretty unique reason. Am that I
(00:59):
in my profession really take economic impact, which is everything
from the cost of care to the actual impact on
the community. And when I learned about Alzheimer's, the Alzheimer's
Association and all that we are doing, can really pursue
a cure for Alzheimer's disease. It was as noble a
(01:21):
cause as I could get involved. And first and foremost,
there is a tremendous human cost to Alzheimer's. I think that,
you know, people certainly understand, but behind that there is
also a tremendous economic impact everything from directly what to
hope that you know, what does healthcare cost in the
United States too, What is Alzheimer's Association's impact on all
(01:43):
of those costs? And let's just say it is tremendously expensive.
So in doing such, I've involved myself with the association
because not only is it important that we do everything
we can to support caregivers, families, patients, everyone who's being
directly touched by this, but also it's very important to
(02:04):
make sure that we here in the United States we
have a system that can actually help accelerate the care,
accelerate connecting patients with therapies, and then ultimately do all
that research and invest the resources necessary in pursuing a cure.
And the good news is that in the past decade
(02:25):
or so, we have actually seen a lot of advances
towards that goal of curing Alzheimer's. Know, there's still a
lot of work to do, but I think we are
all very fortunate to be in an age of virgeoning
science in Alzheimer's disease, and I'm very foolish that we're
going to see the cure in my lifetime.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I am so excited that we're able to talk today, Damien,
because Alzheimer's affects family deeply as well as a community.
How does this disease impact the Jacksonville community. I understand
that it's worldwide, but locally, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
So great question. You mean not surprisingly, you know, Florida
with all of our retirees, we do have a tremendously
large population of patients with Alzheimer's city. So in Florida,
we're actually the second largest number of people in the US,
with over five hundred and eighty thousand patients with Alzheimer's.
(03:20):
I mean, in Duval County alone, approximately twelve percent of
patients over sixty five are living with Alzheimer's eight if
you do the math, that's more than seventeen thousand people. Now,
that is a tremendous impact on our community. Many of us,
unfortunately either know very directly or no people that have
(03:42):
been touched by this terrible illness. And so from that perspective,
you know in Jacksonville's not unique, I mean Miami, Orlando, Tampa,
we all have these same issues here in Florida. But
what's very important is that we all come together and
leverage the power we have as communities of Jacksonville and
(04:03):
these other areas in Florida to really bring strength and numbers.
And the Alzheimer's Association is really kind of the powerful
force behind orchestrating and coalescing all of this interest and
desire to do something positive to impact Alzheimer's disease in
our community.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Now, if you would, Damien, Alzheimer's is prevalent here in Florida,
prevalent in life family members that are taking care of
that person. What is the walk to end Alzheimer's. How
can this family member get involved so that they can
be a part of the fight.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
I think that is the most important. The most important
thing is really activating people in our community. I mean,
when you talk about in general, there is obviously patients
with Alzheimer's, but the broader view is impact of people.
So obviously not only are people working full time jobs,
but people are caregivers. We know that the people six
(05:05):
out of ten caregivers, we're working essentially full time in
addition to what is a full time responsibility to caregive
for one of our loved ones. I think certainly it
has tremendous impact, whether it's patients that or it's me
people retiring early because of the impacts for this leaving
the workforce, whether it's needing time off or quickly just
(05:27):
impacting your day to day ability to even do your
day job. So that is a big piece of this.
And you know, at the same time, you know, those
of us who are at a certain age, not only
do we may possibly have, you know, potentially parents that
are in that demographic, but at the same time we're
raising families of our own, So there's all kinds of
competing pressures. I think the first and foremost thing I
(05:50):
would like to say to any caregiver out there is
is you are not alone. There are a lot of
us who really care so about doing what we can
to support our community. And that's one of the reasons
why accessing the community that is the Alzheimer's Association can
(06:12):
be such a tremendously positive thing for any family caregiver
or loved one first and foremost to know you're not alone.
But secondly, very importantly, there is a tremendous number of
resources so that you don't have to answer every question alone.
The good thing about the folks who know are, whether
you're your professional staff with the Alzheimer's Association or just
(06:35):
your peers in the community that has a are in
a similar situation as you. The closer and the more
you get involved in the Alzheimer's Association, the more you
have access to the support, the resources, the tools, the
things you need to really help manage your life and
understand that there is a community of care around you.
(06:57):
Now and you kind of mentioned it is one of
the biggest invests and frankly most fund ways to really
kind of dip your toe into. How do I get
involved with the Alzheimer's Association is there is a tremendous
event that goes on all across the country called the
Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's, which is the largest
(07:19):
event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care support
and research programs. Now, what is so beautiful about this?
I'vent to a number of these is is that you
meet the absolute cross section of the community you live in.
Because what it shows you very quickly is there is
no one who is untouchable in a community when it
(07:40):
comes to Alzheimer's. Interestingly, you know, when we talk about
Alzheimer's in general, there's a lot of great a great warmth.
And the color we pick purple. What do you think
about purple? Purple is regal. Purple is something that is
generally well set it across even when we've talked in
(08:01):
the political circles, we say red plus blue equals purple.
Wish is true. No one is immune. Everybody somewhere, if
you talk to them long enough, they have a story.
And all of these people come to this wonderful event.
Now envision this. You've got a large number of people
across your community coalesced to do this wonderful walk through
(08:24):
your community to raise awareness. Not only do we all
show up and are either our purple shirts or our
team shirts, we have a number of corporate groups locally
that come out and they may show up in whether
it's their corporate brand or their you know, their community
or their neighborhood, or they may just you know, have
a team rallied around these specific persons, so it's a
(08:46):
really neat setting. Butt there's a lot of simplism too.
Everyone walks, grabs the flower when they get there, and
this is kind of the garden that is pursuing this cure.
What's really cool about it is everybody has a different
color flower, which is really interesting, which means each flower
actually means something. So if you have a blue flower,
(09:10):
that means you're representing someone who is living with Alzheimer's
or another dementia, so you're there on their behalf. You're
there to support them and to kind of raise them
to this community. Purple is a very pointing color because
it's unfortunately that signifies the folks that have lost someone
to the disease. But also those are the people that
(09:32):
you know, Those are the people you want to know
and you want to let them know that you're there
for them, We are here for you. Yellow is someone
who is currently undergoing supporting or caring for a person
with Alzheimer's, and there is so much yellow out there
that you look and you talk to people and you
(09:52):
learn their stories, you learn their struggles. But again, it's
a community taking care of a community. And then Finally,
and this is the color flower that I actually carry
with me, which is an orange flower. And what that
really means is these are people, for whatever reason, they
believe that it is very very important to live into
the Association's vision of a world without Alzheimer's and all
(10:15):
other dementia. I'll say it's the healthcare professional. I carry
that orange flower very proudly because what I do in
my day job is is I work to drive science
forward so that we can get to a place where
we see this cure. And then there is one color,
a very important color of flower that we are reserving,
(10:37):
and this is the big oak, and that color flowers,
the white flower is going to be for the first
patient that is cured of Alzheimer's disease. And we are
going to get to a world where we come to
these walks, whether it's in Jacksonville or somewhere else where,
maybe we see multiple life flowers in year over year
(10:59):
the white flower grow, and that means that our ability
to cure and end Alzheimer's is that we've made it
to that place. Now I look forward to that moment.
I know that I, as well as most if not all, others,
will not have a dry eye at the entire race
when we see that. I live into fruition. But again,
(11:19):
it is a beautiful thing to see, be a part of, feel,
take with you, and really just sort of understand and
connect with the pain the joy. I love the support
of the community that we live in, and I will
say that one of the best parts is that we
can all involve ourselves however we would like to show
(11:41):
up however we would like to and just being there
is just the start of the journey. We don't ask
anything of people other than to be present and really
soak yourself into the symbolism of this wonderful event. Now
this all sounds great, I would say there is a
ton more information about this, and I would really encourage
(12:04):
any of you to just you take a few minutes
and go out to the Alzheimer's Association website. So that
is als dot org Forward Slash Walk, and that particular
part of the website talks to all of the stories
about the walk to Alzheimer's. But then there's also a
(12:24):
very specific Jacksonville page which is al dot org Forward
Flash Jacksonville Walk all one word, and that's actually where
you can register a team, learn how to pull a
team together, learn all of the all those things that
are going to be associated with this event. The first
weekend in November.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Community Shawnee speaking to Damien May, board member of the
Alzheimer's Association, Jacksonville. Damien, a lot of information today. Your
work is very important, Damian. Quick question, is Alzheimer's hereditary?
What would a family member do that is experience or
taking care of a family member? Is it hereditary?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
So I think that one of the most important things
anyone can do is certainly making sure they know their
family history and give your beause you know your family doctor,
a complete family history. They're going to want to understand
if that is in your family. Now, there is a
lot of science out about Alzheimer's and there are some
(13:29):
indications certainly that there is a genetic component to this,
and we have seen through generations that if you have
someone with Alzheimer's in your family, you may be essentially
more predisposed to Alzheimer's. However, that does not mean you're
going to necessarily get Alzheimer's suite. So it most importantly
(13:50):
is a full family history because now what we're starting
to see emerge as well from the science perspective, there's
lots of fantastic science about some of the type some
precursors that maybe markers that increase someone's risk. Maybe there
are some therapies even emerging to start to preemptively uh uh,
(14:14):
you know, treat patients, you know, earlier on than we
actually might have known before. As we continue to get
these new therapies and we continue to get tests and
we identify certain markers, certain triggers, that we can be
in a much better position to do something about the potent,
whether it's increased risk of Alzheimer's, what have you. So again,
(14:37):
I think one of the most important things to do
is is just really make sure that not only that
you're having a very open dialogue with your your family
position as well as if you do have some of
those risk factors or some family history. Uh. There are
strategies you when you were a doctor or whether it
be you know, connected with a specialist or doing some
(15:00):
typesogenetic markers, there are some things that you can do
to sort of put yourself in the best position to
preemptively or reduce some risk potentially of developing Alzheimer's. I
wish we had the whole solution right now, like we
do unfortunately some other disease states. However, I will say
(15:20):
even in the ten to fifteen years I've been doing,
the science has advanced so rapidly that it just feels
like we're even closer to the brain of even more
breakthroughs in the space. And I would just kind of
watch the space, and again, I think the Alzheimer's Association
is a really great resource to not just stay current
(15:42):
on some of the quote unquote science, but more so
the practical things to do. When we learn something new
about Alzheimer's, there's going to be very practical questions or
inquiries that maybe the Alzheimer's Association can kind of help
you all understand that. Again, there is a lot more
known about Alzheimer's now, and there's a lot more health
(16:05):
potentially for you and your loved one.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
A call to action community Shawnee speaking to Damien May,
board member for the Alzheimer's Association Jacksonville. Get ready for
the Walk to end Alzheimer's Jacksonville, and you can find
out the information on our website and of course be
sure to join this site against Alzheimer's. Damien, anything else
you'd like to share with the community about Alzheimer's at
(16:28):
this time.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
All I'd have to say is that this was very
personal to me. Is we're all busy, we all have
a lot going on in our lives, and I was
introduced into the opportunity to work with the Alzheimer's Association
a long time ago, and it has become an absolute
labor of love for me. I look forward to meeting
(16:50):
every caregiver, every patient, every loved one that is willing
to share a story. All you can do is become
richer as a human being, and we're connected to your community.
If you find a way to incorporate yourself here, I
will say there's no event out there quite like the
lockdown in Alzheimer's. It is something that is a tremendous
(17:11):
joy to me and my family's life, and we look
forward to it every year, and I really hope that many,
many of you all have the opportunity to meet you
here at the Jacksonville end of Black Alzheimer's Disease here
this November. I saw a statistic, you know, a good
few years ago, and I don't know how it's changed,
but essentially I can't found this change much. But if
(17:34):
you look at the top ten diseases in this country
in terms of how much money you spend on the
care of people with those diseases. Alzheimer's rank like a
number six on this particular list when I saw it,
And the interesting thing about it was is not only
the sixth most costly things that could happen, is that
(17:55):
it was also the one disease that was a negative
agnostic indicator for all the other nine diseases in the
top ten. Yet it was so horrifically under resource at
the time. Now, the good news is is we're up
to multi billion dollars of research allocated vmieas, which is
one of the ridiculous. We've started to see some therapeutic
(18:17):
innovation in Alzheimer's, so we're not where we need to be,
but we are a long ways away from where we
were a decade and a half ago, and I hope
a decade and a half from now. We are light
years away from where we are today.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Alzheimer's I understand, and dementia, it is a disease of
the unknown, but we are going to get there with
a cure.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
I'm sure, yes, absolutely. It's terrifying and people feel like
they're in the dark. We need to shine the light
on it and by doing that, it's going to get
us to that life four and I can't wait for
that day.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Amen. I appreciate your time today. I appreciate the work
that you do. I believe that we can and Alzheimer's
and I am in the bility system that we have
a community that will rally against it or around it.
So thank you so much for your time today and
allowing us to understand your drive, your why and what
(19:08):
we can do as a community. So we appreciate you.
Do not stop that and if we hear it, iHeart
could be of any any assistance, Please feel free to
reach out. It is very dear and near to many
of the people that work here as well. So thank
you for your time.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Thank you so very much for hosting this very very
important conversation, and I hope to see you folks from
my heart and all these folks who listen to your
broadcast at the walkdown Zelzheimer. So thank you so much
for this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
This is a fight that we all don't understand, but
we have loved ones that we care about and we
want them to be here as long as they can,
So it's a call to action, Damien, we are here,
I will be there, and of course, community be sure
to rally around this and rally around your loved ones
to make sure there is a stop to this Alzheimer's
(20:03):
and a cure as well.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Thank you, Damien, it's been a pleasure chatting with you
here today. And again I thank you and I think
I heard radio for really being a wonderful partner to us,
and you have been for a long time, so it's
not lost upon as how important you are in helping
us to get the word out. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Yes, Damien, it is a beautiful thing when the community
can come together and support a rally behind a cause.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
Well, yeah, and that's the thing. And what I have
seen that has been beautiful over the decade and a
half i've been doing this is where people used to
be very sky and deserved, whether it was because of
their own personal trauma or there's even like a shame
compone into it, Like you know, all my people who
love me are going to go away from me because
they don't know what to do, what to say. And
(20:49):
when we put this out and the open, the more
of the community and each of us in it have
been able to embrace one another and it's just a
great thing to see. And you know, every time I
don't get you know, you see people in there, they
dress up and everybody wants to talk. There's out of
their spears, and it's just like, this is why I
love this community so much. It's just indicative and you
(21:10):
see a slice of that life at walked into Alzheimer's.
And then I've worked with a lot of caregivers over time.
We go talk to politicians, We've gone to DC and
people are just like, oh my god, I'm going to
go talk to a senator this and that, and I'm like,
you tell your story, you're going to have them eaten
out of the plum of your hands by the end
of it. And we've seen senators cry because you touched
(21:31):
a nerve because they have at Alzheimer's, someone with Alzheimer's
as their family. So again, it's just one of those
things that is universally relatable and if you can share
that experience with others, you know, it can take what
is a super painful thing and purt it into something beautiful.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
The energy around taking care of a parent or taking
care of somebody who's battling Alzheimer's, that caregiver. With this
walk to and Alzheimer's, the resources will be there, but
it will also enable us as people to understand that
there's a community caring about you, that you can address it,
(22:10):
that there is resources people who want to actually listen
and understand.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Absolutely, and I mean and normalizing a lot of the
emotion that people have around their situation, whether they're a patient,
whether they're a caregiver. And a lot of times people
think those things are very unique to them and they
feel bad about it. But then when they open up
and talk and people truly arms around them and say,
(22:37):
you know it, I know exactly how you feel. That's
exactly you know, whether it's you know, on one given day,
I'm sad, another day I'm angry. There's all kinds of
emotion out there, and they're all, Okay, it's tough. This
is a nemesis and we're all battling this scourge of
Alzheimer's disease. Don't think you need to take them on
by yourself or you know, we are all unified against
(22:58):
it and we are strength to numbers that we are
going to be successful.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
You know, success always happens in numbers, and you said
the word damien, a surge as we get older. The
generations are getting older, and we have to understand we
are getting older and we have to address some things
even if we don't want to.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Yeah, it's exactly right, I will say from the point
standpoint of a health economist. You know, all we hear
about is this healthcare is expensive. It's getting more expensive,
patients are getting older, this, that, and the other things.
And if we don't do the right things now, it's
a whole lot more expensive to deal with this later,
not to mention the more important issue of the tremendous
(23:40):
human costs to this whole thing. But you know, I
will come at it from the economic side. And so
how can we better create systems of care so that
people can find what they need, when they need it,
how they need it, in a place where they need it,
you know, as opposed to creating this whole system of
(24:00):
you know, hoops and complexity that make it almost like
the second part of the terrible thing is not just
getting the diagnosis, but it's trying to figure out how
to maneuver through the system to actually get you get
the care you need. And that is a terrible aspect
of healthcare in the United States. But again, one of
(24:21):
the one of the things that me and a number
of healthcare professionals who have aligned ourselves of the Alzheimer's
Association is is we at least we kind of understand
the madness of it from the inside out. So if
we can't provide any advice, insight, guidance to the association
and all of its constituents, then maybe maybe we just
(24:42):
make that that you know, pursuit of care just a
little bit easier. It's never going to be totally easy,
but you know, if we can start demystifying some of
these systems barriers, then we can just deal with the
disease and the direct impact of it. So it's something
I have dedicated my career too, and until I know,
(25:04):
until I ride off into the sunset, I intend to
stay very, very involved in this. At the end of
the day, it is about connecting anyone to the care
they need. I'm just happening to focus on Elzhembers because
of the huge nature and scope of this beast at
this point in time.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Community Shawnee speaking to Damien May board member with the
Alzheimer's Association of Jacksonville, understanding that this disease has many components.
You said something about a pursuit, and we are in
a pursuit to that care, that cure, and of course
I believe that we will find that cure. You said it,
(25:46):
and I believe it, so we will stand on it. Community,
be sure to get to our website. We have the
Walk to end Alzheimer's Jacksonville. Be sure to empower the
community in numbers, understanding that we are here to empower
our community and encourage everyone battling dealing with Alzheimer's to
(26:06):
talk about it, to be about it. But let's walk
and be on site.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
I was just gonna say, Andy, and it's always this
season to do something about Alzheimer's. Not only is it
a great cause and an important thing that's happening, is
also a heck of a lot of fun. And you
will run into uh some uh you know, dynamite people
with beautiful stories about themselves, their loved ones and things
(26:34):
they've done with the Association over time. So you know,
don't be bashful about it. Anytime a new face the scene.
Not all it does is create more joy because it's
just yet another you know, warrior against Alzheimer's disease, and
another one lining up behind us to go find that here.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Well, all I know is that we're going to have
to have more white flowers. That is the intent, and
that is the prayer, correct, Damien.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
One one hundred one thousand percent, And that it is
going to be a beautiful day when that white flower
is represented in our walk as well as walks other elsewhere.
And I intend to be front red.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Center for that because that is the day we find
a cure to Alzheimer's community. Damien, thank you so much,
powerful conversation today, lifting up lids and ruffling feathers so
that we can speak on it and be about it.
So thank you for your message, thank you for your drive,
and thank you for your purpose understanding it is something personal.
(27:38):
We all have something personal when it comes to Alzheimer's,
because it's on the rise and we have to address it.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Indeed, thank you so much. Love being on the team
with you, with iHeartRadio and everyone listening to this message.
We're going to get there and it's going to be
a glorious time.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Amen. Thank you community for listening to community viewpoints. Be
empowered be a blessing and definitely be in your community.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Thank you, Damian, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
And as we continue community Viewpoint Shawnee feeling blessed and
highly favored. On this Sunday morning, we are on point
with a movement helping our sisters in need and highlighting
the sisters who pushed and paved the way. Today. I
also have Rosemary McCoy. She is here from the Harriet
Tubman Freedom Fighters. Good morning, Rosemary. How are you today?
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (28:27):
I'm wonderful. How are you all today?
Speaker 1 (28:29):
You know, Rosemary blessed so that I can interview people
who are in the community making strides and creating or
continuing a legacy. So you are here from the Harriet
Tubman Freedom Fighters. Talk to us about yourself first, give
us a little something about who is Rosemary McCoy.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Rosemary McCoy, I was born and raised Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I
was in the military. I got it a discharge because
of a near fatal accident and that's why I landed
here and I'm Jackson, Florida. What calls me to create
herotonic freedom Founders is I was arrested back in twenty
(29:07):
thirteen and I felt that it was you know, I
shouldn't have been arrested, right, So I formed the Herotonic
freedom Fighters to fight for freedom for all community.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
We have a sister here with us today as we
continue fighting for our sisters and understanding the fight continues
and is real. Rosemary, if you would talk to us
about your nonprofit organization, Harriet Tubman freedom Fighters, understanding your
why and why you're paving the way. Tell the community
how they can get involved with what you're doing next.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
Well, you can get involved by number one registered in
the vote in getting out to vote and encourage someone
else to vote. We also would like you to get
involved with the city council budget right now. That's one
of our fights and we're fighting for this here one
eight of a village clubs. It's fourteen million dollars on
the table, and we want them to apply to services that.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Are needed in our communities. E WU give them zero.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
It was over eight million dollars that the mayor had
allocated zero down.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Payment assistance for housing, even two million.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Dollars proposed zero.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
So this is a fight, and so we are doing
our best to stop that type of anti black in
our policies. So that's what we're fighting for at this moment.
We also fighting to keep our community clean. We also
do environmental justice, So you can contact me on my
(30:39):
cell phone of you life nine four seven one three
one five seven zero or visit.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Our website ht ff dot us.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Community Shawnee speaking to Rosemary McCoy when I went to
the Unity Football Festival. She was one of the vendors
who was supporting the Unity Fest. Understanding her drive today
is to bring us knowledge as to why she created
the Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighters to receive equality, receive inclusion.
(31:15):
And as you know, Harriet Tubman, she was one that
did not stop. She created a way out of no way.
So today I wanted to include Rosemary McCoy because we
have to stand for our community, stand for justice, and
stand for those who pave the way like Harriet Tubman.
(31:35):
We are fighting for a movement, for our sisters and
for our community. Rosemary, anything you'd like to say to
the community to set the charge to create the movement
so that we can understand the why why did you
name your organization Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighters?
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Because Harriet Tubman, she didn't just have a dream freedom,
she fought for it and She continued to fight within me,
within this organization and all of those that are elect
officials and everyone that's out there that's doing the work
right to cultivate a peaceful environment. Her spirit is still
fliving through.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Our lives and I did some research on Harriet Tubman.
Her final words, she called upon faith and made reference
to John four Team three in the Bible. She stated,
I go away to prepare a place for you that
where I am, you also may be. Let us stand
on charge like Harriet Tubman, understanding that we have to
(32:38):
fight for our community. We have to fight for those
that are in our community. So Rosemary, thank you for
allowing me to interview you on such short notice, but
I felt your presence being powerful understanding we need to
vote and let our voice be heard. So thank you
so much for your time.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Today, and thank you all for inviting me go wonderful day.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Thank you for listening to community viewpoints. Be sure to
check out our community calendar page to get the information
on how you can join in to fight and walk
to end Alzheimer's. And of course we're always on charge,
always ready to empower our community. Like Harriet Tubman. Be
a blessing and have a blessed day,
Welcome to community viewpoints. Is Shawnee feeling blessed and highly
favored On this Sunday morning, we are empowering our community
shining a light on Alzheimer's. We have a very big
Walk to End Alzheimer's Jacksonville and today I have Damien
May with the Alzheimer's Association Jacksonville. Good morning, Damien, how
(00:21):
are you?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Good morning? I am great? How are you? You know?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I can't complain. I am here to help the community
understand a disease that has a lot of questions. So Damon,
if you would please introduce yourself tell us why you
got involved in Walk to End Alzheimer's.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Absolutely hy, Damien May. I have been working with the
Alzheimer's Association here in Central and North Florida for he's
well over ten years. I will say myself, I'm actually
a pharmacist and a health economist, and I got involved
in Alzheimer's for a pretty unique reason. Am that I
(00:59):
in my profession really take economic impact, which is everything
from the cost of care to the actual impact on
the community. And when I learned about Alzheimer's, the Alzheimer's
Association and all that we are doing, can really pursue
a cure for Alzheimer's disease. It was as noble a
(01:21):
cause as I could get involved. And first and foremost,
there is a tremendous human cost to Alzheimer's. I think that,
you know, people certainly understand, but behind that there is
also a tremendous economic impact everything from directly what to
hope that you know, what does healthcare cost in the
United States too, What is Alzheimer's Association's impact on all
(01:43):
of those costs? And let's just say it is tremendously expensive.
So in doing such, I've involved myself with the association
because not only is it important that we do everything
we can to support caregivers, families, patients, everyone who's being
directly touched by this, but also it's very important to
(02:04):
make sure that we here in the United States we
have a system that can actually help accelerate the care,
accelerate connecting patients with therapies, and then ultimately do all
that research and invest the resources necessary in pursuing a cure.
And the good news is that in the past decade
(02:25):
or so, we have actually seen a lot of advances
towards that goal of curing Alzheimer's. Know, there's still a
lot of work to do, but I think we are
all very fortunate to be in an age of virgeoning
science in Alzheimer's disease, and I'm very foolish that we're
going to see the cure in my lifetime.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I am so excited that we're able to talk today, Damien,
because Alzheimer's affects family deeply as well as a community.
How does this disease impact the Jacksonville community. I understand
that it's worldwide, but locally, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
So great question. You mean not surprisingly, you know, Florida
with all of our retirees, we do have a tremendously
large population of patients with Alzheimer's city. So in Florida,
we're actually the second largest number of people in the US,
with over five hundred and eighty thousand patients with Alzheimer's.
(03:20):
I mean, in Duval County alone, approximately twelve percent of
patients over sixty five are living with Alzheimer's eight if
you do the math, that's more than seventeen thousand people. Now,
that is a tremendous impact on our community. Many of us,
unfortunately either know very directly or no people that have
(03:42):
been touched by this terrible illness. And so from that perspective,
you know in Jacksonville's not unique, I mean Miami, Orlando, Tampa,
we all have these same issues here in Florida. But
what's very important is that we all come together and
leverage the power we have as communities of Jacksonville and
(04:03):
these other areas in Florida to really bring strength and numbers.
And the Alzheimer's Association is really kind of the powerful
force behind orchestrating and coalescing all of this interest and
desire to do something positive to impact Alzheimer's disease in
our community.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Now, if you would, Damien, Alzheimer's is prevalent here in Florida,
prevalent in life family members that are taking care of
that person. What is the walk to end Alzheimer's. How
can this family member get involved so that they can
be a part of the fight.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
I think that is the most important. The most important
thing is really activating people in our community. I mean,
when you talk about in general, there is obviously patients
with Alzheimer's, but the broader view is impact of people.
So obviously not only are people working full time jobs,
but people are caregivers. We know that the people six
(05:05):
out of ten caregivers, we're working essentially full time in
addition to what is a full time responsibility to caregive
for one of our loved ones. I think certainly it
has tremendous impact, whether it's patients that or it's me
people retiring early because of the impacts for this leaving
the workforce, whether it's needing time off or quickly just
(05:27):
impacting your day to day ability to even do your
day job. So that is a big piece of this.
And you know, at the same time, you know, those
of us who are at a certain age, not only
do we may possibly have, you know, potentially parents that
are in that demographic, but at the same time we're
raising families of our own, So there's all kinds of
competing pressures. I think the first and foremost thing I
(05:50):
would like to say to any caregiver out there is
is you are not alone. There are a lot of
us who really care so about doing what we can
to support our community. And that's one of the reasons
why accessing the community that is the Alzheimer's Association can
(06:12):
be such a tremendously positive thing for any family caregiver
or loved one first and foremost to know you're not alone.
But secondly, very importantly, there is a tremendous number of
resources so that you don't have to answer every question alone.
The good thing about the folks who know are, whether
you're your professional staff with the Alzheimer's Association or just
(06:35):
your peers in the community that has a are in
a similar situation as you. The closer and the more
you get involved in the Alzheimer's Association, the more you
have access to the support, the resources, the tools, the
things you need to really help manage your life and
understand that there is a community of care around you.
(06:57):
Now and you kind of mentioned it is one of
the biggest invests and frankly most fund ways to really
kind of dip your toe into. How do I get
involved with the Alzheimer's Association is there is a tremendous
event that goes on all across the country called the
Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's, which is the largest
(07:19):
event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care support
and research programs. Now, what is so beautiful about this?
I'vent to a number of these is is that you
meet the absolute cross section of the community you live in.
Because what it shows you very quickly is there is
no one who is untouchable in a community when it
(07:40):
comes to Alzheimer's. Interestingly, you know, when we talk about
Alzheimer's in general, there's a lot of great a great warmth.
And the color we pick purple. What do you think
about purple? Purple is regal. Purple is something that is
generally well set it across even when we've talked in
(08:01):
the political circles, we say red plus blue equals purple.
Wish is true. No one is immune. Everybody somewhere, if
you talk to them long enough, they have a story.
And all of these people come to this wonderful event.
Now envision this. You've got a large number of people
across your community coalesced to do this wonderful walk through
(08:24):
your community to raise awareness. Not only do we all
show up and are either our purple shirts or our
team shirts, we have a number of corporate groups locally
that come out and they may show up in whether
it's their corporate brand or their you know, their community
or their neighborhood, or they may just you know, have
a team rallied around these specific persons, so it's a
(08:46):
really neat setting. Butt there's a lot of simplism too.
Everyone walks, grabs the flower when they get there, and
this is kind of the garden that is pursuing this cure.
What's really cool about it is everybody has a different
color flower, which is really interesting, which means each flower
actually means something. So if you have a blue flower,
(09:10):
that means you're representing someone who is living with Alzheimer's
or another dementia, so you're there on their behalf. You're
there to support them and to kind of raise them
to this community. Purple is a very pointing color because
it's unfortunately that signifies the folks that have lost someone
to the disease. But also those are the people that
(09:32):
you know, Those are the people you want to know
and you want to let them know that you're there
for them, We are here for you. Yellow is someone
who is currently undergoing supporting or caring for a person
with Alzheimer's, and there is so much yellow out there
that you look and you talk to people and you
(09:52):
learn their stories, you learn their struggles. But again, it's
a community taking care of a community. And then Finally,
and this is the color flower that I actually carry
with me, which is an orange flower. And what that
really means is these are people, for whatever reason, they
believe that it is very very important to live into
the Association's vision of a world without Alzheimer's and all
(10:15):
other dementia. I'll say it's the healthcare professional. I carry
that orange flower very proudly because what I do in
my day job is is I work to drive science
forward so that we can get to a place where
we see this cure. And then there is one color,
a very important color of flower that we are reserving,
(10:37):
and this is the big oak, and that color flowers,
the white flower is going to be for the first
patient that is cured of Alzheimer's disease. And we are
going to get to a world where we come to
these walks, whether it's in Jacksonville or somewhere else where,
maybe we see multiple life flowers in year over year
(10:59):
the white flower grow, and that means that our ability
to cure and end Alzheimer's is that we've made it
to that place. Now I look forward to that moment.
I know that I, as well as most if not all, others,
will not have a dry eye at the entire race
when we see that. I live into fruition. But again,
(11:19):
it is a beautiful thing to see, be a part of, feel,
take with you, and really just sort of understand and
connect with the pain the joy. I love the support
of the community that we live in, and I will
say that one of the best parts is that we
can all involve ourselves however we would like to show
(11:41):
up however we would like to and just being there
is just the start of the journey. We don't ask
anything of people other than to be present and really
soak yourself into the symbolism of this wonderful event. Now
this all sounds great, I would say there is a
ton more information about this, and I would really encourage
(12:04):
any of you to just you take a few minutes
and go out to the Alzheimer's Association website. So that
is als dot org Forward Slash Walk, and that particular
part of the website talks to all of the stories
about the walk to Alzheimer's. But then there's also a
(12:24):
very specific Jacksonville page which is al dot org Forward
Flash Jacksonville Walk all one word, and that's actually where
you can register a team, learn how to pull a
team together, learn all of the all those things that
are going to be associated with this event. The first
weekend in November.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Community Shawnee speaking to Damien May, board member of the
Alzheimer's Association, Jacksonville. Damien, a lot of information today. Your
work is very important, Damian. Quick question, is Alzheimer's hereditary?
What would a family member do that is experience or
taking care of a family member? Is it hereditary?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
So I think that one of the most important things
anyone can do is certainly making sure they know their
family history and give your beause you know your family doctor,
a complete family history. They're going to want to understand
if that is in your family. Now, there is a
lot of science out about Alzheimer's and there are some
(13:29):
indications certainly that there is a genetic component to this,
and we have seen through generations that if you have
someone with Alzheimer's in your family, you may be essentially
more predisposed to Alzheimer's. However, that does not mean you're
going to necessarily get Alzheimer's suite. So it most importantly
(13:50):
is a full family history because now what we're starting
to see emerge as well from the science perspective, there's
lots of fantastic science about some of the type some
precursors that maybe markers that increase someone's risk. Maybe there
are some therapies even emerging to start to preemptively uh uh,
(14:14):
you know, treat patients, you know, earlier on than we
actually might have known before. As we continue to get
these new therapies and we continue to get tests and
we identify certain markers, certain triggers, that we can be
in a much better position to do something about the potent,
whether it's increased risk of Alzheimer's, what have you. So again,
(14:37):
I think one of the most important things to do
is is just really make sure that not only that
you're having a very open dialogue with your your family
position as well as if you do have some of
those risk factors or some family history. Uh. There are
strategies you when you were a doctor or whether it
be you know, connected with a specialist or doing some
(15:00):
typesogenetic markers, there are some things that you can do
to sort of put yourself in the best position to
preemptively or reduce some risk potentially of developing Alzheimer's. I
wish we had the whole solution right now, like we
do unfortunately some other disease states. However, I will say
(15:20):
even in the ten to fifteen years I've been doing,
the science has advanced so rapidly that it just feels
like we're even closer to the brain of even more
breakthroughs in the space. And I would just kind of
watch the space, and again, I think the Alzheimer's Association
is a really great resource to not just stay current
(15:42):
on some of the quote unquote science, but more so
the practical things to do. When we learn something new
about Alzheimer's, there's going to be very practical questions or
inquiries that maybe the Alzheimer's Association can kind of help
you all understand that. Again, there is a lot more
known about Alzheimer's now, and there's a lot more health
(16:05):
potentially for you and your loved one.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
A call to action community Shawnee speaking to Damien May,
board member for the Alzheimer's Association Jacksonville. Get ready for
the Walk to end Alzheimer's Jacksonville, and you can find
out the information on our website and of course be
sure to join this site against Alzheimer's. Damien, anything else
you'd like to share with the community about Alzheimer's at
(16:28):
this time.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
All I'd have to say is that this was very
personal to me. Is we're all busy, we all have
a lot going on in our lives, and I was
introduced into the opportunity to work with the Alzheimer's Association
a long time ago, and it has become an absolute
labor of love for me. I look forward to meeting
(16:50):
every caregiver, every patient, every loved one that is willing
to share a story. All you can do is become
richer as a human being, and we're connected to your community.
If you find a way to incorporate yourself here, I
will say there's no event out there quite like the
lockdown in Alzheimer's. It is something that is a tremendous
(17:11):
joy to me and my family's life, and we look
forward to it every year, and I really hope that many,
many of you all have the opportunity to meet you
here at the Jacksonville end of Black Alzheimer's Disease here
this November. I saw a statistic, you know, a good
few years ago, and I don't know how it's changed,
but essentially I can't found this change much. But if
(17:34):
you look at the top ten diseases in this country
in terms of how much money you spend on the
care of people with those diseases. Alzheimer's rank like a
number six on this particular list when I saw it,
And the interesting thing about it was is not only
the sixth most costly things that could happen, is that
(17:55):
it was also the one disease that was a negative
agnostic indicator for all the other nine diseases in the
top ten. Yet it was so horrifically under resource at
the time. Now, the good news is is we're up
to multi billion dollars of research allocated vmieas, which is
one of the ridiculous. We've started to see some therapeutic
(18:17):
innovation in Alzheimer's, so we're not where we need to be,
but we are a long ways away from where we
were a decade and a half ago, and I hope
a decade and a half from now. We are light
years away from where we are today.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Alzheimer's I understand, and dementia, it is a disease of
the unknown, but we are going to get there with
a cure.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
I'm sure, yes, absolutely. It's terrifying and people feel like
they're in the dark. We need to shine the light
on it and by doing that, it's going to get
us to that life four and I can't wait for
that day.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Amen. I appreciate your time today. I appreciate the work
that you do. I believe that we can and Alzheimer's
and I am in the bility system that we have
a community that will rally against it or around it.
So thank you so much for your time today and
allowing us to understand your drive, your why and what
(19:08):
we can do as a community. So we appreciate you.
Do not stop that and if we hear it, iHeart
could be of any any assistance, Please feel free to
reach out. It is very dear and near to many
of the people that work here as well. So thank
you for your time.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Thank you so very much for hosting this very very
important conversation, and I hope to see you folks from
my heart and all these folks who listen to your
broadcast at the walkdown Zelzheimer. So thank you so much
for this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
This is a fight that we all don't understand, but
we have loved ones that we care about and we
want them to be here as long as they can,
So it's a call to action, Damien, we are here,
I will be there, and of course, community be sure
to rally around this and rally around your loved ones
to make sure there is a stop to this Alzheimer's
(20:03):
and a cure as well.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Thank you, Damien, it's been a pleasure chatting with you
here today. And again I thank you and I think
I heard radio for really being a wonderful partner to us,
and you have been for a long time, so it's
not lost upon as how important you are in helping
us to get the word out. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Yes, Damien, it is a beautiful thing when the community
can come together and support a rally behind a cause.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
Well, yeah, and that's the thing. And what I have
seen that has been beautiful over the decade and a
half i've been doing this is where people used to
be very sky and deserved, whether it was because of
their own personal trauma or there's even like a shame
compone into it, Like you know, all my people who
love me are going to go away from me because
they don't know what to do, what to say. And
(20:49):
when we put this out and the open, the more
of the community and each of us in it have
been able to embrace one another and it's just a
great thing to see. And you know, every time I
don't get you know, you see people in there, they
dress up and everybody wants to talk. There's out of
their spears, and it's just like, this is why I
love this community so much. It's just indicative and you
(21:10):
see a slice of that life at walked into Alzheimer's.
And then I've worked with a lot of caregivers over time.
We go talk to politicians, We've gone to DC and
people are just like, oh my god, I'm going to
go talk to a senator this and that, and I'm like,
you tell your story, you're going to have them eaten
out of the plum of your hands by the end
of it. And we've seen senators cry because you touched
(21:31):
a nerve because they have at Alzheimer's, someone with Alzheimer's
as their family. So again, it's just one of those
things that is universally relatable and if you can share
that experience with others, you know, it can take what
is a super painful thing and purt it into something beautiful.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
The energy around taking care of a parent or taking
care of somebody who's battling Alzheimer's, that caregiver. With this
walk to and Alzheimer's, the resources will be there, but
it will also enable us as people to understand that
there's a community caring about you, that you can address it,
(22:10):
that there is resources people who want to actually listen
and understand.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Absolutely, and I mean and normalizing a lot of the
emotion that people have around their situation, whether they're a patient,
whether they're a caregiver. And a lot of times people
think those things are very unique to them and they
feel bad about it. But then when they open up
and talk and people truly arms around them and say,
(22:37):
you know it, I know exactly how you feel. That's
exactly you know, whether it's you know, on one given day,
I'm sad, another day I'm angry. There's all kinds of
emotion out there, and they're all, Okay, it's tough. This
is a nemesis and we're all battling this scourge of
Alzheimer's disease. Don't think you need to take them on
by yourself or you know, we are all unified against
(22:58):
it and we are strength to numbers that we are
going to be successful.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
You know, success always happens in numbers, and you said
the word damien, a surge as we get older. The
generations are getting older, and we have to understand we
are getting older and we have to address some things
even if we don't want to.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Yeah, it's exactly right, I will say from the point
standpoint of a health economist. You know, all we hear
about is this healthcare is expensive. It's getting more expensive,
patients are getting older, this, that, and the other things.
And if we don't do the right things now, it's
a whole lot more expensive to deal with this later,
not to mention the more important issue of the tremendous
(23:40):
human costs to this whole thing. But you know, I
will come at it from the economic side. And so
how can we better create systems of care so that
people can find what they need, when they need it,
how they need it, in a place where they need it,
you know, as opposed to creating this whole system of
(24:00):
you know, hoops and complexity that make it almost like
the second part of the terrible thing is not just
getting the diagnosis, but it's trying to figure out how
to maneuver through the system to actually get you get
the care you need. And that is a terrible aspect
of healthcare in the United States. But again, one of
(24:21):
the one of the things that me and a number
of healthcare professionals who have aligned ourselves of the Alzheimer's
Association is is we at least we kind of understand
the madness of it from the inside out. So if
we can't provide any advice, insight, guidance to the association
and all of its constituents, then maybe maybe we just
(24:42):
make that that you know, pursuit of care just a
little bit easier. It's never going to be totally easy,
but you know, if we can start demystifying some of
these systems barriers, then we can just deal with the
disease and the direct impact of it. So it's something
I have dedicated my career too, and until I know,
(25:04):
until I ride off into the sunset, I intend to
stay very, very involved in this. At the end of
the day, it is about connecting anyone to the care
they need. I'm just happening to focus on Elzhembers because
of the huge nature and scope of this beast at
this point in time.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Community Shawnee speaking to Damien May board member with the
Alzheimer's Association of Jacksonville, understanding that this disease has many components.
You said something about a pursuit, and we are in
a pursuit to that care, that cure, and of course
I believe that we will find that cure. You said it,
(25:46):
and I believe it, so we will stand on it. Community,
be sure to get to our website. We have the
Walk to end Alzheimer's Jacksonville. Be sure to empower the
community in numbers, understanding that we are here to empower
our community and encourage everyone battling dealing with Alzheimer's to
(26:06):
talk about it, to be about it. But let's walk
and be on site.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
I was just gonna say, Andy, and it's always this
season to do something about Alzheimer's. Not only is it
a great cause and an important thing that's happening, is
also a heck of a lot of fun. And you
will run into uh some uh you know, dynamite people
with beautiful stories about themselves, their loved ones and things
(26:34):
they've done with the Association over time. So you know,
don't be bashful about it. Anytime a new face the scene.
Not all it does is create more joy because it's
just yet another you know, warrior against Alzheimer's disease, and
another one lining up behind us to go find that here.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Well, all I know is that we're going to have
to have more white flowers. That is the intent, and
that is the prayer, correct, Damien.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
One one hundred one thousand percent, And that it is
going to be a beautiful day when that white flower
is represented in our walk as well as walks other elsewhere.
And I intend to be front red.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Center for that because that is the day we find
a cure to Alzheimer's community. Damien, thank you so much,
powerful conversation today, lifting up lids and ruffling feathers so
that we can speak on it and be about it.
So thank you for your message, thank you for your drive,
and thank you for your purpose understanding it is something personal.
(27:38):
We all have something personal when it comes to Alzheimer's,
because it's on the rise and we have to address it.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Indeed, thank you so much. Love being on the team
with you, with iHeartRadio and everyone listening to this message.
We're going to get there and it's going to be
a glorious time.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Amen. Thank you community for listening to community viewpoints. Be
empowered be a blessing and definitely be in your community.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Thank you, Damian, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
And as we continue community Viewpoint Shawnee feeling blessed and
highly favored. On this Sunday morning, we are on point
with a movement helping our sisters in need and highlighting
the sisters who pushed and paved the way. Today. I
also have Rosemary McCoy. She is here from the Harriet
Tubman Freedom Fighters. Good morning, Rosemary. How are you today?
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (28:27):
I'm wonderful. How are you all today?
Speaker 1 (28:29):
You know, Rosemary blessed so that I can interview people
who are in the community making strides and creating or
continuing a legacy. So you are here from the Harriet
Tubman Freedom Fighters. Talk to us about yourself first, give
us a little something about who is Rosemary McCoy.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Rosemary McCoy, I was born and raised Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I
was in the military. I got it a discharge because
of a near fatal accident and that's why I landed
here and I'm Jackson, Florida. What calls me to create
herotonic freedom Founders is I was arrested back in twenty
(29:07):
thirteen and I felt that it was you know, I
shouldn't have been arrested, right, So I formed the Herotonic
freedom Fighters to fight for freedom for all community.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
We have a sister here with us today as we
continue fighting for our sisters and understanding the fight continues
and is real. Rosemary, if you would talk to us
about your nonprofit organization, Harriet Tubman freedom Fighters, understanding your
why and why you're paving the way. Tell the community
how they can get involved with what you're doing next.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
Well, you can get involved by number one registered in
the vote in getting out to vote and encourage someone
else to vote. We also would like you to get
involved with the city council budget right now. That's one
of our fights and we're fighting for this here one
eight of a village clubs. It's fourteen million dollars on
the table, and we want them to apply to services that.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Are needed in our communities. E WU give them zero.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
It was over eight million dollars that the mayor had
allocated zero down.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Payment assistance for housing, even two million.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Dollars proposed zero.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
So this is a fight, and so we are doing
our best to stop that type of anti black in
our policies. So that's what we're fighting for at this moment.
We also fighting to keep our community clean. We also
do environmental justice, So you can contact me on my
(30:39):
cell phone of you life nine four seven one three
one five seven zero or visit.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Our website ht ff dot us.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Community Shawnee speaking to Rosemary McCoy when I went to
the Unity Football Festival. She was one of the vendors
who was supporting the Unity Fest. Understanding her drive today
is to bring us knowledge as to why she created
the Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighters to receive equality, receive inclusion.
(31:15):
And as you know, Harriet Tubman, she was one that
did not stop. She created a way out of no way.
So today I wanted to include Rosemary McCoy because we
have to stand for our community, stand for justice, and
stand for those who pave the way like Harriet Tubman.
(31:35):
We are fighting for a movement, for our sisters and
for our community. Rosemary, anything you'd like to say to
the community to set the charge to create the movement
so that we can understand the why why did you
name your organization Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighters?
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Because Harriet Tubman, she didn't just have a dream freedom,
she fought for it and She continued to fight within me,
within this organization and all of those that are elect
officials and everyone that's out there that's doing the work
right to cultivate a peaceful environment. Her spirit is still
fliving through.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Our lives and I did some research on Harriet Tubman.
Her final words, she called upon faith and made reference
to John four Team three in the Bible. She stated,
I go away to prepare a place for you that
where I am, you also may be. Let us stand
on charge like Harriet Tubman, understanding that we have to
(32:38):
fight for our community. We have to fight for those
that are in our community. So Rosemary, thank you for
allowing me to interview you on such short notice, but
I felt your presence being powerful understanding we need to
vote and let our voice be heard. So thank you
so much for your time.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Today, and thank you all for inviting me go wonderful day.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Thank you for listening to community viewpoints. Be sure to
check out our community calendar page to get the information
on how you can join in to fight and walk
to end Alzheimer's. And of course we're always on charge,
always ready to empower our community. Like Harriet Tubman. Be
a blessing and have a blessed day,
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