Submitted by Senior Services for South Sound
Laughter often breaks out from the Stars Room at the Lacey Senior Center. The joyful sound of people having a good time. What fun activities are at the source of this joy? Here is a sampling from the current calendar of activities: The Science of Rainbows, Potato Chip Day, Weird Science, Frogs-Natures Health Monitors, Cherry Blossom Festival, Button Art, BINGO, Daffodil Art, Shuffleboard, Basketball, Music with Joe and Sing-a-long. The most important source of joy is just belonging to a group and enjoying being together.
The program content focuses on conversation, games that are both cognitively and physically stimulating, pet therapy, art and music. Participants are people living with dementia or some other condition requiring supervised care. The program combats social isolation that might otherwise occur when mobility or normal societal connections become difficult or disappear.
Most of our Stars participants live with their families or some other caregiver in their own homes or the homes of family members. The Stars Program provides a place where the care-receiver can get an engaging program while family caregivers get a break from 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week care. This break gives them the opportunity to take care of themselves, exercise, go shopping, run errands, sleep, socialize or even earn a living with peace of mind, knowing that their loved one is receiving good care.
Several care providers use the time that their loved-one is at Stars to spend un-interrupted time at work and conduct business activities. One current participant attends five days a week so that their daughter can help run the family business. Another participant’s daughter works from home two days a week but has Stars program for her father the other three days a week when she has to be in the office.
The Stars program operates five days a week in Lacey at the Lacey Senior Center, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. The program also operates in Shelton on Mondays and Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each week.
Potential participants can arrange a visit day to see the program in action and begin the enrollment process. The program cost $13.50 per hour, however, scholarships are available at lower or no cost to the participant. Call Stars Director, Paul Taylor for more information at 360-407-3967 ext. 107.
The Stars program is working on reaching out to people who have just gotten a diagnosis of dementia and their families as they try to adjust to the challenges this diagnosis will bring to their lives. The program is active in the dementia support group that meets on the 4th Friday of the month at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 2109 College St. SE in Lacey, WA.
Dementia Talks is an educational program offered at the Lacey Senior Center on the second Thursday of each month to help people learn more about dementia. There is a specific topic for each month and time for questions and discussion.
Memory Café is an opportunity for people living with dementia and their families to enjoy a social outing with people who understand what they are experiencing. Memory Café is the first Thursday of each month from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. at The Rivers Edge Restaurant, 4611 Tumwater Valley Drive SE in Tumwater. Memory Café in Mason County meets on the third Thursday of the month at 1:00 PM at the Restaurant in Alpine Way Senior living center in Shelton.
