Dementia Care Resources in Georgia: Programs, Support Groups, and Where to Start

The State Aging Network

Georgia's aging services infrastructure is built around 12 regional Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), each serving a cluster of counties. These agencies are the front door for most public dementia-related services — from Medicaid waiver referrals to caregiver respite to home-delivered meals.

The quickest way to find the right AAA is through the statewide Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) line at 866-552-4464. For metro Atlanta families, the equivalent is Empowerline at 404-463-3333, operated by the Atlanta Regional Commission for Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale counties.

Your AAA can initiate screening for the Community Care Services Program (CCSP) and SOURCE Medicaid waivers, connect you to the state-funded Alzheimer's Respite program, and coordinate a Determination of Need-Revised (DON-R) assessment to evaluate your parent's functional impairment level.

Alzheimer's Association Georgia Chapter

The Georgia Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association operates a 24/7 helpline at 800-272-3900, staffed by master's-level clinicians and available in over 200 languages. Beyond the helpline, the chapter runs several direct programs.

Support groups. The chapter coordinates in-person and virtual caregiver support groups across the state. Groups meet monthly in most metro areas and many rural counties. You can search by zip code on the Alzheimer's Association's community resource finder. Early-stage support groups also exist for people who have been recently diagnosed and want to connect with peers.

Education programs. Free workshops cover topics like understanding dementia behaviors, legal and financial planning, and late-stage caregiving. These are offered both in-person and online.

Care consultation. The chapter provides individualized care planning sessions where a trained consultant helps you create an action plan based on your parent's diagnosis stage, living situation, and financial resources.

Georgia's Memory Cafes

Memory cafes are informal social gatherings designed for people living with dementia and their care partners. Unlike support groups, they are not therapeutic sessions — they are structured social events (music, art, conversation) meant to reduce isolation for both the person with dementia and the caregiver.

Several Georgia communities host regular memory cafes, particularly in the metro Atlanta area and larger cities like Savannah, Augusta, and Athens. The Alzheimer's Association Georgia Chapter maintains a list of active cafes, and many are run by local libraries, churches, and community organizations.

Dementia-Friendly Community Initiatives

The dementia-friendly community movement trains businesses, first responders, and civic organizations to recognize and respond appropriately to people with cognitive impairment. Georgia has active dementia-friendly initiatives in several counties, often coordinated through local AAAs or Alzheimer's Association partnerships.

These programs are most valuable for families keeping a parent at home in the community. A dementia-friendly grocery store, bank, or pharmacy has trained its frontline staff to recognize confusion, speak clearly, and avoid escalating anxiety — which directly reduces the number of crisis calls families field.

State-Funded Alzheimer's Respite Program

Georgia runs a state-funded respite program specifically for families caring for someone with a documented dementia diagnosis. This program is separate from Medicaid waivers and has different eligibility criteria. Priority goes to individuals who score a 2 or higher on the DON-R assessment in the "Outside Home" domain, which reflects high wandering or social isolation risk.

The program provides subsidized respite hours — in-home aides, adult day health, or short-term residential care — to give primary caregivers a break. Contact your regional AAA or Empowerline to begin the application process.

Emory Integrated Memory Care

For families in the Atlanta area, Emory Healthcare's Integrated Memory Care clinic offers coordinated dementia-specific primary care under the Medicare GUIDE model. This program bundles care navigation, caregiver training, and respite benefits under standard Medicare coverage. Read more in our detailed post on Emory Integrated Memory Care.

Putting It All Together

The challenge with Georgia's dementia resources is not that they do not exist — it is that they are scattered across a dozen agencies, each with its own eligibility criteria, intake process, and waitlist. The Georgia Dementia & Memory Care Guide sequences these resources into a chronological action plan, so families know which calls to make first and how each program connects to the next.

See more Georgia guides →