A New York City woman who cares for her mother with Alzheimer's spoke to News 12 in hopes of raising awareness about the disease during National Alzheimer's Awareness Month and National Caregivers Month.

For Carma Augustin, being a caregiver is second nature. Since caring for her mom over the years, she's wanted to spread awareness of Alzheimer's and the struggles for those who care for people suffering from it.

"The experience of being a caregiver is very hard because it's like taking care of a child. I don't have children so I had to fall into that role of being a parent. I'm doing so many other things and trying to balance a social life. It's extremely difficult to try to be 100% there for me," says Augustin.

According to a report by the Alzheimer's Association, there are 400,00 people over the age of 65 living with Alzheimer's in New York and 1 million people providing them with care.

Augustin helps her mother with day-to-day tasks that she doesn't remember how to do on her own. While she loves doing it, at times it can take a toll on her. So Augustin reached out to Sunnyside Community Services, a nonprofit that assists caregivers.

"I've been getting used to it now, but it still makes me sad. Having to see a person go to work, take care of me, and now the roles being reversed - it's heartbreaking," says Augustin.

Augustin's advice for anyone caring for a loved one is to remember that you are not alone. She says it is her goal one day to start her own memory center to help patients battling Alzheimer's.