At Columbine Health, we enrich our community; we inspire, we connect, and we care. We prioritize the well-being of our residents and anyone affected by dementia, making our facilities a warm and supportive environment for memory care. We are proud to partner with Dementia Together, a non-profit organization based in Fort Collins, Colorado. Dementia Together serves those living with dementia, their care partner, families, and the community through education, enrichment and support services. Together, Columbine Health and Dementia Together are presenting Dementia Awareness Week, a series of events from September 9th to the 13th focused on providing resources for those navigating the dementia journey.
Dementia Together started in 2014 as a volunteer initiative with one care partner support group and one memory cafe. With increasing community need DT officially became a non-profit organization in 2017 enthusiastically sharing the SPECAL® method as a framework to effectively and positively manage the condition of dementia. Their mission is to create communities in which no one has to walk the dementia journey alone.
Claire Richardson, the Outreach and Resource Development Manager at Dementia Together, never realized how important and impactful her work with the organization would be. The simple, counterintuitive strategies taught by Dementia Together have prepared Claire to provide tangible resources to her extended family members caring for a loved one. In addition, they helped her effectively communicate and promote lifelong well-being with her own mom living with dementia.
Dementia Together teaches highly practical strategies which are based on an understanding of dementia as a simple disability which can be positively managed. By understanding dementia through the framework of a simple and highly effective way of explaining how it feels to experience dementia, using the analogy of the SPECAL® photograph album (ref. Contented Dementia Trust, Burford England) and (further explained in the “Helping Your Loved One Live Well with Dementia” class. As Richardson explains, their approach allows Dementia Together to be recognized as an “in the meantime” organization. While research continues into cures and causes of dementia, Dementia Together focuses on making living well with dementia the expectation, not the exception.
Participants in their SPECAL® education classes often describe a profound understanding and new perspective on dementia that they haven’t gained elsewhere. One participant felt that the course really opened their eyes more than anything else they have done to understand dementia. The value of these courses is widely acknowledged, and their continued promotion strives to change the narrative from tragedy and crisis to contentment and hope. With their positive teaching methods and impactful approach, Columbine Health is thrilled to host Dementia Together during Dementia Week.
Richardson is incredibly excited for individuals and families to participate in Dementia Week. She is particularly looking forward to Dementia Together’s “Helping Your Loved One Live Well with Dementia” class on Tuesday, September 10th. Described as “life changing,” this course provides simple, counterintuitive strategies that can be immediately implemented.
Dementia Week at Columbine Health aims to raise awareness and enhance understanding of dementia care among our residents, staff, family members, and the broader community. This five-day event will feature an educational class, a film screening, a mobile memory cafe, pet therapy session, and a local concert. In partnership with Dementia Together, Columbine Health seeks to educate the community about dementia and offer support and hope to those directly or indirectly affected.
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