Memory walks are being held across the country today to highlight the stigma faced by people diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Roughly two-in-three New Zealanders are affected by Alzheimer's in some way.
The biggest is being held in Wellington, with hundreds expected to gather in Waitangi Park around 1:30pm on Sunday afternoon.
The 5km walk in Auckland starts at 9.30am in Mission Bay.
Alzheimer's New Zealand chief executive Catherine Hall says sufferers find relationships change once they learn they've got the disease.
"What people with dementia don't want is to be treated differently. They want to be treated the same as everyone else and have the same opportunities."
Ms Hall says that can lead to sufferers feeling isolated, a trend that is increasing in New Zealand.
"The most important thing any of us can do is to reach out to those people that we know that have dementia so that we include them in our lives. We include them and help them to participate in the activities that they know and love."
Ms Hall compares the stigma about getting dementia is similar to that around HIV.
"Many people are very scared of developing dementia in fact our research tells us that dementia is the second most feared condition after cancer."
Around 60,000 Kiwis have been diagnosed with dementia, a figure expected to triple by 2050.
Newshub.
