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ZAMI NOBLA member Deneen Day featured as caregiver in Alzheimer’s article.

“‘I had to be a warrior':’ How one Black, LGBTQ+ Ohioan blazed a trail in Alzheimer’s caregiving”, The Buckeye Flame, 28 Jan 2025, https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2025/01/28/black-lgbtq-caregiver-blazes-trail-in-ohios-alzheimers-community/

“I’ve done two tours of duty,” Deneen Day says without hesitation, introducing herself.

No, the Columbus native has never served in the military. But she is certainly a veteran of a different sort. 

Day has twice served as the primary caregiver for close family members with Alzheimer’s disease. For any individual, this role can be exhausting and all-consuming. But as an LGBTQ+ Black woman who has had to navigate support systems designed for people who don’t look like her or love like her, Day has encountered obstacles that straight white caregivers simply do not encounter. 

Add to the mix that Black Americans are twice as likely as older whites to have Alzheimer’s or another dementia, and you have an embattled landscape that only a seasoned veteran could traverse. 

“I have had to be a warrior, that’s for sure,” Day laughs. “But I just put on my cape and did what I had to do.”