Instead of being just a Church that welcomes and receives by keeping the doors open, let us try also to be a Church that finds new roads, that is able to step outside itself and go to those who do not attend Mass, to those who have quit or are indifferent.
Pope Francis
Jerry Schroeder is a Senior Program Specialist with the Alzheimer's Association.
He received his Masters of Science in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and has been working in the field of senior services for more than 25 years.
He was the Assistant Director of the Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging from 1988 to 1997, then served as the lay chaplain at Ridgecrest Retirement Village for several years.
He has been with the Alzheimer's Association since early 2005. He works directly with patients and their families, teaching them about progression and treatment of dementia.
He connects them to necessary medical and community services, and helps them understand how to live safely and well through the course of their illness. He also provides a variety of educational programs for the community about Alzheimer's and related dementias.