PORTERVILLE, Calif. – The Porterville-based nonprofit Valley Adult Day Services recently received a $6,000 grant from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America to launch a “Mobile Memory Cafe.”
This project will bring activities and caregiver support to residents experiencing dementia in rural communities such as Terra Bella, Pixley, and Strathmore.
Getting support for dementia patients can often prove difficult when residents don’t have reliable transportation, says Marina Chavez, executive director of Valley Adult Day Services.
“I know it's hard if we're set in Porterville. Sometimes we’ve had clients in Strathmore, and interest from Terra Bella and such,” Chavez said. “Transportation getting out there is so hard.”
The so-called Mobile Memory Cafe is expected to begin its travels in October. The nonprofit plans to visit at least one community each month.
The pop-up events will be designed less like a healthcare program and more like a casual neighborhood cafe. Families can expect tea and coffee, as well as activities and information, Chavez said.
“Maybe we’ll have a 20-minute meditation on how to relax at home or different kinds of breathing exercises,” Chavez said. “But also have activities for loved ones that have dementia and Alzheimer's: puzzles or types of literature or stories and stuff that they could take home as well.”
For people living with dementia, these activities are meant to help provide social engagement and cognitive stimulation.
Charles Fuschillo Jr., president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, said reducing isolation for dementia patients is key to supporting people with this cognitive impairment.
“Combating isolation and loneliness is so critically important to break that barrier, to break that stigma, and Valley Adult Day Services is doing that,” Fuschillo said.
Fuschillo said the need for caregiver support was one of the reasons the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America was initially founded.
“Throughout the country, more than seven million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease,” Fuschillo said. “Use the multiplier of three or four as a caregiving team – you could see how widespread and prevalent it is.”
Chavez, who runs the Porterville nonprofit, echoes this sentiment, stating that oftentimes caregivers may feel like they are the only ones dealing with the challenges of caring for someone with dementia.
Valley Adult Day Services already provides daytime care for people living with dementia, which allows families to continue to care for loved ones at home while also managing their own lives. The organization's focus isn’t just the person living with dementia, but the entire family.
The Mobile Memory Cafe is one more way to involve families in the treatment of dementia patients.
“It’s part of our mission to give back,” Fuschillo said.
