Parkinson Association of Southwest Florida

The Parkinson's Association of Southwest Florida (paswfl/the Association) provides free programs and services that help residents of collier and lee counties, fl with Parkinson's (pd) and related neurodegenerative disease to live well. Our offerings include a variety of evidenced-based activities, proven to help improve the quality of life, as well as educate, enrich, and empower those with pd and their care partners. We offer more than 130 programs monthly, primarily gentle movement (seated yoga, tia chi), advanced exercise, speech exercise, need specific support groups, educational/information talks, powerful tools for caregivers, dance for pd, and more. Programs are offered in-person and virtually. All sessions, especially in-person social functions, are opportunities to reduce the isolation felt by many with pd. Paswfl continues to inform the community about pd, provide resources for those newly diagnosed with pd, and add activities and sessions to the offerings based upon availability of professional and certified facilitators. Florida, particularly our area in Southwest Florida, has a high prevalence of pd due the mean age of the population. National organization no relation to our Association show that Florida is #2 behind California in prevalence with 79,990 people with pd.