Community 360 is a local non-profit that has been recruiting, screening and training skilled volunteers for area nursing homes for 25 years.
Executive Director Paul Falkowski says a new component of their training is the TimeSlips program. Used worldwide with people with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, the program has participants use their imagination rather than their memory.
Falkowski explains that a TimeSlips facilitator asks questions that lead the group or individual to develop a story based on a picture. He says this approach brings enjoyment and dignity.
“Some of their capabilities are diminished because of the disease. And so they still want to feel secure; they still want to feel connected to society, and through this TimeSlips program, it gives them an opportunity to grow -- and that’s not a word that we normally associate with dementia. But it gives them a chance to experience a growth. Hey, I can do this. I can create this story.”
Beginning on Tuesday, September 5th, the W. Dale Clark Library will have a display of stories written by local nursing home residents with Community 360 TimeSlips volunteers. It will run through the end of the September.
For more information, the website is www.community-360.org