Creating a Resources Roadmap for Everyone Affected by FTD

We’ve seen a very big, surprise shift in our trajectory for this project as a whole (all in positive ways), and although I’ll cover that later in more detail, today I just want to briefly talk about one of the biggest pieces to it: the RESOURCES CENTER (working title) we’ll be creating here at frontotemporaldementia.org.

Before we even prepared to launch the site and move the film full throttle ahead, one extremely important aspect to the project was slated for late Phase 1 or early Phase 2, and that was simply the RESOURCES CENTER — a place where we can fill in the gaps that families, loved ones, caregivers, and pretty much anyone affected by FTD can turn to for help at the outset.

It’s our core mission at Change the World Films to affect change, not to simply make a film and then boom, on to the next one. In the case of FTD, that means creating what the COMMUNITY needs… what you all tell us that you’re missing. From an online standpoint, particularly with me at the helm and the work I do for my other company, Mightier Pen Marketing, we have a ton of experience in house to create whatever is needed to fill in these gaps.

I want everyone to approach this with a “sky is the limit” attitude, and we’ll then work hard to bring it all to fruition as much as we can.

So this update is really just a call to action to the FTD community to please start letting us know what your core obstacles are… what your biggest pain points may be… and along the way, to help us brainstorm what can fill in these gaps and lessen, if not completely solve, the problems themselves.

To that end, please let me make a bit of an introduction here. As part of the surprise shift in our trajectory I mentioned briefly above, Mary Dennis, who’s featured in the documentary (her father Herb Treen suffered from FTD), recently introduced me to Susie Scarff, a fellow Phoenician (unbelievable coincidence that we’re practically neighbors) who just happens be the founder of an incredible Facebook page for FTD caregivers.

In short order, Susie joined our Veritas Advisory Committee, and is actively helping us work on the development of the Resources Center already. I humbly ask that if you have ideas for us to consider implementing, please click here to share those with Susie over at the Dementia: The Journey Ahead Facebook page. She will be documenting everything there and helping us move forward.

If you’re not on Facebook, however, please feel free to visit our Contact page and connect with us directly there instead.

One final note, I’m extremely grateful to Mary for the introduction, to Susie for being such an awesome champion in helping FTD caregivers, and to everyone who’s been stepping up and helping out between volunteering time and donating in this early part of Phase 1 here!

It’s a lot of work, and believe me, all the support that’s been coming in this early in the process really keeps the motor running here! Thank you all, and please keep spreading the word, both about the film itself, and the Resources Center we’re working to create as well.

Thank you!

— Eric

Eric Battersby
President
Change the World Films