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CONTACT: Lisa Hale by email: lisah@lvfirst.org or phone: 770-963-0386 ext. 0126
Grace Arbor Receives Alzheimer’s Association Grant to Improve Respite Care for People Living with Dementia and their Caregivers in Lawrenceville, GA
Lawrenceville, June 26, 2025 — Grace Arbor has been awarded a $121,694.00 grant from the Alzheimer’s Association Center for Dementia Respite Innovation (CDRI) to enhance the quality and availability of dementia-specific respite care for people living with dementia and their caregivers in Lawrenceville, Ga.
Grace Arbor is one of 41 recipients chosen to receive grant funding from more than 200 applicants across the country. Funds will go towards supporting more families in Gwinnett County. Grace Arbor plans to institute virtual reality experiences to caregivers and community members, to offer an immersive simulation of what it’s like to live with dementia. Through partnerships with Universities, Grace Arbor offers students valuable hands-on clinical experiences and will foster new partnerships and increase its volunteer team as more families in Lawrenceville are reached. Funds will also go towards updating the Grace Arbor center, ensuring the highest quality person-centered care for those in need of respite care.
Grace Arbor is excited to be included in this elite group of community-based service providers,” said Lisa Hale, Program Director. “Caring for someone living with dementia can be overwhelming. This grant will help us provide much needed dementia-specific respite care and services for people living with dementia and their caregivers living in Lawrenceville.”
Gwinnett County has the second-highest population of individuals aged 65 and older in Georgia (105,195 in 2020). Of those 11,100 (10.8%) are reported to be living with Alzheimer’s dementia (stacker.com). According to the Atlanta Regional Commission Area Agency on Aging, Grace Arbor is one of 15 facilities in the county offering adult day care and is the only one located in the city of Lawrenceville. Lawrenceville has 3,676 residents aged 65 and older in 2020, of whom 397 (10.8%) may be assumed to be living with Alzheimer’s dementia.
Grace Arbor is a faith-based organization, serving the dementia community for 20 years, at Lawrenceville First UMC. Their mission is to provide comprehensive caregiver support, education, resources, and affordable person-centered adult day respite care to every family in Gwinnett County, GA affected by dementia. The focus of Grace Arbor’s work is senior adults with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s dementia and their caregivers. Grace Arbor prioritizes serving individuals who may face obstacles to obtaining respite care, such as low-income families, veterans, those from communities with limited resources, and those with transportation needs.
Grace Arbor provides volunteer-led social care for five hours, Monday through Thursday, 10am till 3pm, providing person-centered care that meets the unique needs and preferences of each person with dementia.
Grace Arbor’s morning routine involves fellowship, music, devotion, and exercise. We personalize music selections based on each person’s preferences and life history. Afternoon routines involve multisensory activities and entertainment. Grace Arbor offers cognitive stimulation through memory games, reminiscing, and social interactive opportunities in small and large groups. Multisensory simulation activities include indoor and outdoor events, large group discussions, arts and crafts, recreation, gardening, cooking, and pet therapy. Grace Arbor offers a morning snack and hot nutritious lunches that are prepared daily by staff who are ACF (American Culinary Federation) educated and ServSafe trained.
In conjunction with the grant, Grace Arbor will also receive online training and ongoing technical assistance from the CDRI to ensure respite services are dementia-capable and to support sustainability. The CDRI will also collect data and evaluate the impact of these innovative projects from all grant recipients to inform public policy.
“We congratulate Grace Arbor on its grant and look forward to working with its team to help enhance respite care services for local dementia caregivers,” said Sam Fazio, Ph.D., vice president care and support programs and research, Alzheimer’s Association. “We intend to gain insights from each respite program we fund, ultimately developing a catalog of programs, tools and resources that will be easily accessible to interested caregivers and care providers.”
The Alzheimer’s Association created the CDRI in 2024 after receiving a $25 million grant from the Administration for Community Living (ACL), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Over the next four years, the CDRI will provide $25 million in grant funding to local respite providers and organizations to enhance the quality and availability of respite care nationwide. Visit alz.org/cdri to see the full list of this year’s grant recipients.
Funding disclosure
This project is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $13,261,685 with 75 percent funded by ACL/HHS and $3,285,728 amount with 25 percent funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
Grace Arbor is one of 41 recipients chosen to receive grant funding from more than 200 applicants across the country. Funds will go towards supporting more families in Gwinnett County. Grace Arbor plans to institute virtual reality experiences to caregivers and community members, to offer an immersive simulation of what it’s like to live with dementia. Through partnerships with Universities, Grace Arbor offers students valuable hands-on clinical experiences and will foster new partnerships and increase its volunteer team as more families in Lawrenceville are reached. Funds will also go towards updating the Grace Arbor center, ensuring the highest quality person-centered care for those in need of respite care.
Grace Arbor is excited to be included in this elite group of community-based service providers,” said Lisa Hale, Program Director. “Caring for someone living with dementia can be overwhelming. This grant will help us provide much needed dementia-specific respite care and services for people living with dementia and their caregivers living in Lawrenceville.”
Gwinnett County has the second-highest population of individuals aged 65 and older in Georgia (105,195 in 2020). Of those 11,100 (10.8%) are reported to be living with Alzheimer’s dementia (stacker.com). According to the Atlanta Regional Commission Area Agency on Aging, Grace Arbor is one of 15 facilities in the county offering adult day care and is the only one located in the city of Lawrenceville. Lawrenceville has 3,676 residents aged 65 and older in 2020, of whom 397 (10.8%) may be assumed to be living with Alzheimer’s dementia.
Grace Arbor is a faith-based organization, serving the dementia community for 20 years, at Lawrenceville First UMC. Their mission is to provide comprehensive caregiver support, education, resources, and affordable person-centered adult day respite care to every family in Gwinnett County, GA affected by dementia. The focus of Grace Arbor’s work is senior adults with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s dementia and their caregivers. Grace Arbor prioritizes serving individuals who may face obstacles to obtaining respite care, such as low-income families, veterans, those from communities with limited resources, and those with transportation needs.
Grace Arbor provides volunteer-led social care for five hours, Monday through Thursday, 10am till 3pm, providing person-centered care that meets the unique needs and preferences of each person with dementia.
Grace Arbor’s morning routine involves fellowship, music, devotion, and exercise. We personalize music selections based on each person’s preferences and life history. Afternoon routines involve multisensory activities and entertainment. Grace Arbor offers cognitive stimulation through memory games, reminiscing, and social interactive opportunities in small and large groups. Multisensory simulation activities include indoor and outdoor events, large group discussions, arts and crafts, recreation, gardening, cooking, and pet therapy. Grace Arbor offers a morning snack and hot nutritious lunches that are prepared daily by staff who are ACF (American Culinary Federation) educated and ServSafe trained.
In conjunction with the grant, Grace Arbor will also receive online training and ongoing technical assistance from the CDRI to ensure respite services are dementia-capable and to support sustainability. The CDRI will also collect data and evaluate the impact of these innovative projects from all grant recipients to inform public policy.
“We congratulate Grace Arbor on its grant and look forward to working with its team to help enhance respite care services for local dementia caregivers,” said Sam Fazio, Ph.D., vice president care and support programs and research, Alzheimer’s Association. “We intend to gain insights from each respite program we fund, ultimately developing a catalog of programs, tools and resources that will be easily accessible to interested caregivers and care providers.”
The Alzheimer’s Association created the CDRI in 2024 after receiving a $25 million grant from the Administration for Community Living (ACL), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Over the next four years, the CDRI will provide $25 million in grant funding to local respite providers and organizations to enhance the quality and availability of respite care nationwide. Visit alz.org/cdri to see the full list of this year’s grant recipients.
Funding disclosure
This project is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $13,261,685 with 75 percent funded by ACL/HHS and $3,285,728 amount with 25 percent funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
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