Helena businesses join purple campaign to raise Alzheimer’s awareness

Helena businesses are turning windows, coffee drinks and even flower beds purple this month as part of a fifth-year Paint the Town Purple campaign for Alzheimer’s awareness. The effort lands during Alzheimer’s and Brain Health Awareness Month, but the scale of the disease gives it more than symbolic weight: more than 21,000 Montanans are living with Alzheimer’s, and dementia significantly affects more than 40,000.

The campaign is built to be easy for local businesses to join. Participants can wear purple, paint windows, offer purple coffee drinks or plant purple flowers, small steps that make the effort visible around Helena without requiring a large budget or a complicated signup process. BeeHive Homes of Helena, which provides assisted living and memory care, is among the participating organizations, and residents there are described as appreciating the campaign and the support behind it.

The local push also reflects a much larger caregiving burden that hits families in Lewis and Clark County and across Montana. State fact sheets estimate about 17,000 caregivers in Montana, about 25 million hours of unpaid care and a value of roughly $578 million for that labor. The state has only 15 geriatricians, and planners project a 186.7% increase will be needed to meet demand by 2050. Montana’s Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias State Plan 2025, published in May 2025, focuses on public awareness, early detection, caregiver support, care coordination, research and health care evaluation.

Heather Bassett’s Paint the Town Purple- Helena fundraiser says the campaign is in its fifth year and is meant to honor people in Helena and surrounding areas who are living with dementia, have cared for someone with dementia, have lost someone to dementia or support dementia causes in the community. The page lists a $10,000 goal and shows $55 raised, a reminder that the effort is still a grassroots fundraiser as much as a visual campaign. Donations to the Alzheimer’s Association help fund research and provide resources for people affected by the disease.

For families looking for help beyond purple storefronts, the Montana chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association offers support groups and educational programs near Billings, Helena and Missoula, along with a 24/7 helpline at 1-800-272-3900. The chapter’s next big regional event, the 2026 Walk to End Alzheimer’s - Southwest Montana, is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, at Stodden Park in Butte, with pre-event festivities and opening ceremonies at 11 a.m.