Submitted Photo Licensed laughter instructer Jane Fischer from Improv Connections in Jamestown, Laughter Yoga leads conference attendees in a session.

GERRY — On Friday, March 23, Chautauqua Opportunities Alzheimer’s Services held a Community Caregiver Conference at the Heritage Retirement Campus in Gerry. Sixteen vendors and eight speakers joined together to give caregivers from all over Chautauqua County valuable resources and information for their role as a caregiver. Vendors included: The Chautauqua Adult Day Services, Office for the Aging, Alzheimer’s Association of WNY, Lutheran and Senior Life Matters, No Wrong Door/NY Connects, Southwestern Independent Living, Venture Forthe, WillCare, The Chautauqua Center, People Inc.; Tanglewood Manor, YourCare, The PRIDE Center Of WNY and Brooks Memorial Hospital. Speakers for this event included: Center of Excellence of Alzheimer’s Disease, the Alzheimer’s Association, Pfalzgraf, Beinhauer & Menzies law firm, Johnson Family Pharmacy from Aberdeen, Maryland, and Heritage the Homestead. The last speaker was from Improv Connections in Jamestown, Laughter Yoga. A light lunch was served and the speakers shared information on finances, medication, behaviors, diagnosing and treating types of dementia. A special guest speaker, Dr. Laila DeNoya, brought personal perspectives as a caregiver to share with the group. This event was made possible through a grant funded by the New York State Department of Health called the Caregiver Support Initiative for Undeserved Communities.