09/06/2026
This 3-year-old Black girl had no idea that one day, her greatest heartbreak would become her God-given assignment. đź’ś
I grew up in the hood of Pleasant Grove in Southeast Dallas, in a society that was not always welcoming to a young Black girl like me. At that age, I could never have imagined where life and God would eventually lead me.
I never imagined that I would lose my maternal grandmother to dementia.
I never imagined that I would lose my mother to Alzheimer’s disease in 2025.
All the women on my mother’s side of the family who loved me, supported me, and helped guide me have now passed away. Although their physical presence is gone, their love, wisdom, strength, and prayers continue to live through me.
I never thought my grief would become the seed of a greater purpose.
After more than 20 years working in technology across the healthcare and government sectors, I am now developing an app in honor of my mother to help families navigate dementia and Alzheimer’s with greater dignity, connection, and support.
I am also challenging the status quo by working to develop affordable memory care homes in Dallas, beginning in the same Pleasant Grove community that helped shape me. These homes will be designed to support low-income families who are too often overlooked and priced out of the traditional memory care system.
My 20-year career prepared me for this assignment, even when doors were closed and I could not understand why. Looking back, I can see that every experience, disappointment, and closed door was not the end of my story.
God was redirecting me.
God was developing me.
God was preparing me.
A series of dreams given to me by God helped lead me to this purpose.
As we begin World Alzheimer’s Month, I want to encourage people to move beyond awareness and get behind real solutions. Families need affordable care, trusted resources, supportive technology, and communities where they do not have to navigate this heartbreaking disease alone.
That little 3-year-old girl from Pleasant Grove could not see the road ahead, but God could.
Where you come from does not disqualify you from where God is calling you. A closed door does not mean your purpose has been canceled.
Every day you wake up is another opportunity to discover your true purpose, answer your calling, and use everything you have survived to help someone else.
This is bigger than an app.
This is bigger than a memory care home.
This is the continuation of the legacy of the women who poured into me.
This is a movement, and we are just getting started.
If dementia or Alzheimer’s has touched your family, your profession, or your heart, I invite you to stand with us and help build the solution.
Learn more and join the movement at ClaraCaresMemory.com. đź’ś
