Small mundane actions can start something great. Everyday my schedule seems to be filled with mundane tasks like budget talks, phone calls, meetings, funding projects, reports, and trainings. Sometimes it feels like I just get something cleared and its on the schedule again the next day. It’s all in a days’ work, right. I have to remind myself that these things matter. These very little things create big results. They can even launch a movement.
Through a collaboration of different staff members and teams, doing these seemingly small things, the Region IV Area Agency on Aging is launching a big movement. The need to assist caregivers and persons with dementia has been brought to the forefront as we hear from community members. Through research and connections with our local, state, and national partners, we knew we had to make some great strides in this effort.
We have set out to make our small corner of the world in southwest Michigan a dementia-friendly community.
What exactly is this movement and why should I be interested? More and more people we know and love will get the gut-wrenching diagnosis of dementia. It may be evident in the people we run into at the bank, dentist office, restaurant, or stores that they also suffer from this diagnosis. How we interact with these individuals and the people that care for them will matter.
Dementia is a loss of cognitive functioning and behavioral ability that significantly interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. There are many types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy Bodies, frontotemporal dementia, Huntington’s Disease, and others. Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common type of dementia, affecting roughly 190,000 Michigan adults 65 and older.
Currently there is a stigma associated with having dementia, that death is looming upon diagnosis. This couldn’t be more wrong. Dementia patients often have years to live, and live they do. We work with these people to change the stigma using Zoom and the arts. They are vibrant, smart, funny and poignant individuals. They don’t deserve to be stigmatized and thought of as less. They deserve to be celebrated! At AAA we do just that, via classes on dementia, caregiver trainings, caregiver support groups and more.
A dementia diagnosis is scary and confusing for patients, families, and friends. We want to reduce the stigma and become part of the solution in the journey.
We have partnered with The Remember Project to further destigmatize this disease using the Arts. On Tuesday, March 15, 2022, from 2-4 PM, we will be hosting a one-act play called “Fortune Cookies. All community members are welcome to attend this event which will be delivered via Zoom with a limited number of in-person tickets also available.
“Our ultimate goal,” explains Remember Project Founder and Fortune Cookies Director Danette McCarthy, “is to assist community members and leaders to consider new ways to think about memory loss and to become aware of local resources that support families who are dealing with a diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease.”
What a movement we will start if everyone does just one “small thing” to help someone with dementia or someone who is caring for someone with dementia. And with every small thing – we can make a big impact in the lives of the people around us.
We hope you’ll join us to raise awareness and fight the stigma of memory loss. Please watch the play, “Fortune Cookies,” and participate in the Dementia-Friendly Communities movement. You can learn about resources in the communities served by Region IV Area Agency on Aging, and meet others who are interested in learning more, while supporting those who live with dementia.
If you are interested in seeing the play, please contact Amy Nichols at 269-982-7748, or amynichols@areaagencyonaging.org.