KindredMind Voice Companion Now Available Worldwide to Resolve Dementia Separation Anxiety and Repetitive Calling

Originally started in Ontario by a dementia family caregiver and tech entrepreneur, KindredMind answers calls from loved ones with dementia in the family caregiver's own voice, in sixteen languages.

TORONTO, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- When a person living with dementia calls a family member repeatedly, it is not manipulation. It is dementia separation anxiety: the brain cannot retain the memory of the last call, so the fear resets within minutes and the call comes again.

According to UCLA Health, people with dementia "forget that they called before or asked the same questions even 5 minutes ago." The reassurance works in the moment but cannot be retained. The anxiety resets. The call comes again. What the person living with dementia needs, every time, is warmth, patience, and the voice of the person they love most.

KindredMind (kindredmind.care) is now available worldwide, purpose-built to ensure every person living with dementia receives the familiar voice they need, every time they call. KindredMind answers in the caregiver's own voice, drawing on a personal knowledge base built from what the caregiver chooses to share: routines, family history, recurring fears, and the words that bring comfort. The anxiety is met. The call ends with warmth.

Every plan begins with the Initial Voice, built through a guided setup interview with KindredMind's AI setup specialist, Sarah, conducted in English. Caregiver answers during setup can be in any of the supported languages. Dementia often returns a person to the language of their early life, even after decades of speaking another. KindredMind currently supports twelve production languages with four additional languages in beta. The loved one hears the voice they love from the very first call. On certain plans, the voice automatically deepens into the Refined Voice once thirty minutes of interview audio has been recorded, recognisably the caregiver to anyone who knows their voice.

KindredMind resolves approximately 90 percent of dementia-related calls without caregiver intervention. Calls include safety-aware response features, including detection of distress keywords set up by the caregiver or potential medical-emergency cues, that can alert caregivers or backup contacts when intervention or follow-up may be needed. Every call follows the Alzheimer Society of Canada's guidance for dementia-friendly phone calls. Trained dementia care professionals never correct a patient's reality. They enter it with warmth, validate the emotion, and redirect toward comfort. KindredMind does the same.

Traditional approaches such as blocking calls, voicemail, and taking the phone away address only the caregiver's side, leaving the person living with dementia alone with unresolved fear. KindredMind amplifies the caregiver's presence, meets the loved one's anxiety directly, and provides round-the-clock support. Taking the phone away does not resolve the anxiety driving the calls. It removes the outlet while the fear remains. A 2023 study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (Umoh et al.) found that the use of communications technology like a working phone is longitudinally associated with reduced social isolation in adults aged 65 and over.

KindredMind was built by Kirstin Thomas, a dementia family caregiver and Canadian tech entrepreneur. Her previous company, smart parcel locker pioneer Snaile Inc., was acquired in 2024. Thomas built KindredMind with her husband and co-founder Patrick Armstrong after her mother was diagnosed with mixed dementia (vascular dementia and frontotemporal lobe dementia), amplified by a stroke, and moved into a care facility.

"She is not calling to bother you, or make you feel guilty," said Kirstin Thomas, Co-founder of KindredMind. "She is calling because she is worried and scared, and your voice is the only thing that has ever made that fear go away."

The approach is grounded in the Alzheimer Society of Canada's communication guidance, reinforced by validation therapy, and supported by a 2024 randomized controlled trial published in the International Journal of Neuroscience (PubMed 38646703), which found meaningful reductions in agitated behaviors, anxiety, and caregiver burden when familiar voice presence was combined with standard dementia care.

KindredMind is privacy-first. No personally identifiable information is collected beyond what is required to deliver the service. Any information shared is encrypted before storage and readable only by the family. No data trains external AI models. No data is shared with third parties. Data is permanently deleted when an account is closed.

KindredMind is a member of the Alzheimer's Foundation of America Member Network. Five percent of every subscription will be donated quarterly to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, the Alzheimer's Association, or the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, at the subscriber's choice. KindredMind will begin publishing total donation amounts publicly on December 31, 2026, with ongoing disclosure thereafter.

In the United States, nearly 12 million people provide unpaid care for someone living with Alzheimer's or another dementia, according to the Alzheimer's Association 2025 Facts and Figures report. In Canada, more than 771,000 people are living with dementia as of January 1, 2025, according to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

To learn more or get started, visit kindredmind.care.

About KindredMind

KindredMind is a voice companion for dementia families that answers calls from a loved one with dementia in the family caregiver's own voice, drawing on a personal knowledge base of routines, family history, and comforting words built by the caregiver. Built on simulated presence therapy, validation therapy, and the Alzheimer Society of Canada's communication guidance, KindredMind is available worldwide in sixteen languages starting at $129 USD per month. KindredMind is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.

Media Contact
Patrick Armstrong
Co-founder, KindredMind
[email protected]
+1 (437) 367-0960
kindredmind.care

KindredMind is an independent company and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any organization referenced in this release.

SOURCE KindredMind