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Tag: #compassion

Inside Out – Holidays & Dementia – 11/13/24

Inside Out – Holidays & Dementia – 11/13/24

Holidays and Dementia

Family Life’s “Inside Out” podcast with Martha Manikas-Foster

If someone you love is living with dementia, simplifying how you celebrate the holidays could create a more enjoyable time for everyone. Phil Shippers of the Rochester and Finger Lakes chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association offers practical help in this Inside Out news podcast.


https://www.alz.org/help-support/resources/holidays

One in ten older Americans lives with dementia. Maybe this includes people you love. If so, being flexible and even making a few changes to the way you celebrate the holidays could help everyone feel more comfortable around the table this year.

“We have to realize that due to the changes in the brain, the person is trying to interpret their environment. So, being part of a social event may be upsetting or confusing or stressful,” says Phil Shippers, program director for the Rochester & Finger Lakes Region of the Alzheimer’s Association.

“I think the biggest thing is to be flexible, and perhaps to change our expectations,” he says. “Maybe we try new things. And we want to do this to reduce commotion, to reduce noise and activity, to make the person living with dementia feel more comfortable.”

Even if we’re not organizing the gathering, Shippers says there are practical things we can do to help our loved one living with dementia enjoy the time together. “One of the suggestions that we make is that when people approach the person living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, that they introduce themselves,” he says. “And it doesn’t have to be formal or stuffy. You can just make light of it, saying, ‘Oh, this is your favorite grandson Patrick.’”

We want to preserve each person’s dignity and demonstrate our love. Along the way, Shippers points out, we will make mistakes. “Give yourself some grace as well,” he says. “And just be as positive and really enjoy the moment as much as you can.”

Listen to our Inside Out podcast, where Phil Shippers lists a number of practical ways to make gatherings more comfortable.


For additional help, the Alzheimer’s Association offers support and resources 24/7 through its Help Line at 800-272-3900. You can also contact the Alzheimer’s Association at Alz.org.

That website offers six recommendations for households where the attendees include someone  who is dealing with these types of memory loss and limitations.

 

 

 

#InsideOut

11/13/2024

 

Hometown Heroes – House of Hope – Pastor Angelique – 2/13/24

Hometown Heroes – House of Hope – Pastor Angelique – 2/13/24

“We want them to know from the second they walk in that this is a place where they will receive healing and acceptance and value.”

It’s “Hometown Heroes” on Family Life

The House of Hope in Williamsport PA exists to help women overcome dependency, barriers, and challenges — so they will move from a state of homelessness to thriving in the community through the transforming power of Jesus Christ. The six-month residential program is an outreach of the Sojourner Truth Ministries there.

Pastor Angelique Labadie-Cihanowyz is the executive director, and she tells us about some of the paths which led these women to desperate or challenging life circumstances, and how the love of Jesus Christ is demonstrated to those who find shelter and solace at the House of Hope.

 

Sojourner Truth Ministries is named for the former slave who became an outspoken advocate for women’s rights, temperance and abolition of slavery. STM in Williamsport operates the House of Hope, prepares hot lunches six days a week, and have provided an after-school program for children. Find out more from their website, where you can watch their “House Tour” and “Cardboard Stories” videos.

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