At Carter Center mental health forum, Jason Carter gives update on former President Jimmy Carter

Carter Center Chair Jason Carter gave a health update on his grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter, on Tuesday. 

During the 28th Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum at the Carter Center, the eldest grandson of the former U.S. President and first lady Rosalynn Carter spoke about the importance of the Carter Center's work in the mental health field before switching to personal reflections about his grandparents. 

Rosalynn Carter died in November 2023 at age 96 following a dementia diagnosis. She was a pioneer in her work at the White House and the Carter Center to end stigma around mental health.

"The outpouring of love and support that we as a family received from the people in this room and from the rest of the world, was so remarkable and meaningful to us," he said of celebrating his grandmother's life and legacy.

Jason Carter then said of Jimmy Carter, "My grandfather is doing OK. He really is, I think, coming to the end that, as I've said before, there's a part of this faith journey that is so important to him. And there's a part of that faith journey that you only can live at the very end. And I think he has been there in that space ..."

The former president is 99 years old and has survived cancer. He's been in hospice care since February 2023. 

Jason Carter thanked the public for support and prayers for his grandparents. 

He also said that Jimmy Carter is aware of public support. 

He said that he visited his grandfather recently and they watched a Braves game on television. 

"People ask me how you're doing," Jason Carter said he said to his grandfather during the visit, "and I say 'I don't know.' And he said, 'Well, I don't know myself.'"