For more than 50 years, the Aros family has built a local and national reputation in rodeoing and team roping. A family tragedy has inspired them to extend their legacy into activism about conditions that manifest in at least 10% of Arizonans age 65-plus: dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.
“My dad had dementia and he had good and bad moments and my mom was his caregiver 100% of the time. She never told us that he became violent, but that is what happened and we would like to try to prevent others from going through what we have gone through,” said George Aros, a 1981 National Finals Rodeo Champion. He is also the owner of Aros Arena in Picacho, a headquarters for roping events, roping lessons, horse training and team roping practice sessions.
Aros and his siblings became determined to use their platform in roping to raise awareness about dementia after his 97-year-old father, Victor, attacked his mother, Yolanda, 88, during a moment of confusion and fear in January 2023.
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Victor died a few months later.
“He thought he was after an intruder who was trying to take their money,” Aros said. “They had been married for 66 years and he had never laid a hand on her. Dementia is a very serious disease and we want people to take notice that something like this can happen.”
Though Aros was aware that in recent years his father had become more argumentative and complained often of intruders trying to invade their house, Yolanda was insistent that Victor remain with her in the home where they had raised their three children.
“None of us lived there with them, so we didn’t know what went on every day. What happened was completely unthinkable. Afterward we found the Pima Council on Aging (PCOA) and can’t help but think that had my mother known about the organization and their programs, then things would have worked out differently,” said Aros, who has realized since the tragedy how common it is for people to experience challenges with dementia care.
“Some similar stories came out from friends, and I had no idea. We all feel a lot of guilt,” he said.
The stories highlight not only the sense of isolation and helplessness that caregivers experience when caring for someone with dementia, but also the stigma attached to the cognitive decline, according to Harbhajan Khalsa, program director of Dementia Capable Southern Arizona (DCSA), which is based at PCOA.
The initiative is a collaborative effort to support and empower those with dementia and their caregivers through coordination of resources, education and policy change.
“We need to de-stigmatize dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, and the more people hear those words, that fear will slowly go away,” said Khalsa. “We need to help folks get more educated and help them understand they are not alone. That is why it is so important to promote awareness about PCOA and the help it offers through dementia education and caregiver support.”
DCSA services include non-diagnostic memory screening, options counseling services to help clients navigate the dementia journey and referral planning and connections to home and community-based services.
“We want to act as the dementia hub and help connect folks to resources,” said Khalsa. “The internet — and the world — can be overwhelming for caregivers and we want to be a trusted source for people to go to for everything they need regarding dementia,”
An additional DCSA offering in partnership with PCOA is Memory Cafés, which serve as socialization spaces those living with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias and their caregivers, families and friends.
Offered citywide, the cafés target the isolation and loneliness that go hand-in-hand with dementia for both clients and caregivers. Programming includes musical sing-alongs; games such as Bingo and Jeopardy; arts and crafts; and other enrichment opportunities. The cafés are free and open to the public.
“We strive to be a place for social connection. This is a place where caregivers can leave their caregiver role at the door and clients can leave their dementia diagnosis at the door. It is a safe space where staff and volunteers are trained and people can just hang out and relax,” said Khalsa.
The ultimate intent is to break down barriers and provide meaningful support and resources, according to Sara Mathis, development director for PCOA.
“Memory Cafés are so powerful: They are an instant community where you are surrounded by people who experience what you experience on a day-to-day-basis. Community is so important when you living with someone who has dementia or Alzheimer’s,” said Mathis.
Other PCOA services designed to expand community include caregiver support groups and respite for caregivers. It also offers a variety of workshops and training programs for family caregivers. All services are free and open to the public.
Aros believes these resources would have helped to assist and empower his family and wants to let others know about opportunities for support.
To honor his parents, and to promote awareness about the realities of living with dementia for both patients and caregivers, he will raise funds to benefit PCOA through the upcoming “Dally for Dementia” at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 3 at Aros Arena, S. Picacho Highway. The event is free to spectators and monetary donations to PCOA will be accepted onsite or online at .
The charity roping event mirrors the Mike Cervi Memorial Pro Classic, a fundraiser planned each February by Aros for the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund, which has raised more than $350,000 to benefit professional rodeo athletes injured during competition.
“This has a small scale jackpot compared to the event in February, but the biggest thing is to try to warn people about how serious it can be when a person with dementia starts thinking there are intruders in their home,” Aros said. “All I can hope is that we can make people aware and that they utilize these services at Pima Council on Aging to prevent what happened to my family.”