Dementia activist: Fighting for our rights

Dementia activist: Fighting for our rights is a 152-page memoir from a translator and activist who was diagnosed at an early age with Lewy Body Dementia. At the time of publication, Rohra had been living with a dementia diagnosis for over three years and in this book offers a unique glimpse into the challenges she encounters on a daily basis along with finding new meaning in her life post-diagnosis.

Rohra beings her memoir discussing her active life as a single mom raising a son on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum and her work as a freelance medical and scientific translator. When she began losing the ability to come up with the proper word, she tried to find the humor in the situation but gradually began to get worried. Amazed at her diagnosis, Rohra began to withdraw at first but found the courage to continue being an activist for the dementia community with humor and grace.

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

TimeSlips Creative Storytelling

TimeSlips is a nonprofit organization headed by Anne Basting, a theater artist and educator in Milwaukee, who has a passion for helping older folks with cognitive impairment. TimeSlips "offers online and in-person training programs and has helped long-term care facilities and caregivers around the world..." The project has been developed into a formal therapy with the idea that stories can be a substitute for the memories that have been lost due to the participants' cognitive impairments.

For more information about this project, a MacArthur Fellows Program, please visit:
https://www.macfound.org/fellows/956/

FSSA Resource Guide

Indiana Family and Social Services Administration has put together a resource guide of services in the state containing information about programs provided and administered by FSSA.  The guide also gives direction on how Hoosiers qualify to receive state assistance from a variety of programs including:

• Early Care & Education

• Employment

• Financial Services

• Food / Nutrition

• Health Coverage

• Home- & Community-Based Services for the Aged, Blind and Disabled

• Mental Health / Addictions

• Transportation

• Housing

The guide can be found in its entirety at:

http://www.in.gov/fssa/files/FSSA_Resource_Guide.pdf

Memory Bridge Training Retreat

For the fourth consecutive summer, the Indiana Institute’s Center on Aging and Community and Memory Bridge are sponsoring the Memory Bridge Training Retreat, to be held at the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington on June 17-22, 2016. The Retreat is dedicated to ending the social isolation accompanying dementia through learning how to be with people with dementia in emotionally and spiritually sustaining ways.

For more information on this event, please visit:
http://www.memorybridge.org/retreat.php

What's new?

Wondering what's new in the library? Each month, we take a moment to look back at the new items that arrived in the library the previous month. From biographies to accessibility to social skills, check out the new titles at:
https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/whats-new

The Art of Aging Workshop

The Art of Aging:

Life Enrichment Through the Arts

Saturday, May 21, 2016

9 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

Indiana Memorial Union on the IU-Bloomington campus

As part of the 2016 Creative Aging Festival to be held next month in Bloomington, the Institute’s Center on Aging and Community will sponsor a one-day workshop focusing on best practices for engaging older adults in creative, arts-related enrichment activities.

Artists in all genres including activities directors, direct care workers, nurses, and administrators in long-term care, senior housing managers and personnel, social services professionals, volunteers, and students in gerontology should plan to attend.

For more information and to register, please visit:
https://www.iidc.indiana.edu//index.php?pageId=art-of-aging

Design for a Small (Aging) Planet

Bloomington Farmer’s Market (City Hall Atrium)

Saturday, April 30, 2016

9 am – 12 noon 

This year, Design for a Small (Aging) Planet will feature the creative work of students in two interior design classes at Indiana University. One class is conceptualizing the re-configuration of an empty Shower’s Furniture Factory building as a “senior arts colony.” A second class is working on improvements to the design of everyday products. 

Students will be in place to help explain their work and solicit desired feedback from an interested public. 

For more information, contact Phil Stafford, Center on Aging and Community, Indiana University, staffor@indiana.edu or 812-855-2163.

Mobile App Monday - Grocery iQ

Grocery iQ is an aid for independent living and individuals who struggle with memory and organization. Build lists from the Grocery iQ extensive product database using text, barcode, or voice search. Sync and share lists with other devices and the GroceryiQ.com website. Find related coupons and much more.

Want to learn more about it? Please visit:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id290591617

Creating Advocates for Livable Communities Web Seminar

The American Society on Aging, as part of their Disabilities in Aging Series, will host a web seminar on Thursday, December 3, 2015 featuring the Indiana Institute’s Center on Aging and Community’s Advocates for Livable Communities project. The Advocates for Livable Communities project is designed to identify ways to engage the aging and disability communities around the significance of livability. Participants in this web seminar will be able to:

• List three reasons why it is desirable to join together older adults and people with disabilities to promote community livability;
• Identify four features of a livable community;
• Identify methods that can be used to promote collaboration between older adults and people with disabilities to make communities more livable for all; and,
• Describe several ways to effectively advocate.

For more information, and to register, please visit:
http://members.asaging.org/members_online/registration/register.asp?mt=WB123S&af=ASA

Aging in Place Webinar

The Indiana Association of Cities and Towns (INACT) will host a webinar on Tuesday, November 17, 2015 focusing on Aging in Place: Creating Senior-Friendly Communities from 10:00-11:30 a.m. The webinar will feature the Indiana Institute’s Phil Stafford, director of the Center on Aging and Community and John Marron, AICP, senior policy analyst, IU Public Policy Institute.

Registration fee is $17.00 for INACT members and $47.00 for non-members. For more information and to register, please visit:
http://www.citiesandtowns.org/webinars

Neighborhood Heart and Soul

The City of Bloomington’s Housing and Neighborhood Development Department is hosting a workshop “Neighborhood Heart and Soul,” led by Phil Stafford, Center Director for the Institute's Center on Aging and Community, on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 401 N. Morton St. Stafford is a cultural anthropologist and national leader in the age-friendly community movement.

This free workshop is for neighborhood residents who want to explore the treasures that drew residents to their neighborhoods and look into future neighborhood projects that will keep residents there. The workshop will include activities and methods that help residents establish what they want to preserve, value, add and develop to help shape each resident’s own neighborhood.

Registration is not required, but if you register by Monday, Oct. 12, a map of your neighborhood or area may be provided as a tool to work with as you explore the array of possibilities of projects in your neighborhood.

To register for this free workshop or to inquire if you live within the boundaries of a neighborhood association, please contact Vickie Provine, Program Manager at provinev@bloomington.in.gov or call 812.349.3505.

White House holds its Conference on Aging

Once each decade since the 1960s, the White House holds its Conference on Aging (WHCOA).  The 2015 WHCOA celebrates the 50th anniversary of Medicare, Medicaid and the Older Americans Act, and it is scheduled for Monday, July 13. The City of Bloomington Commission on Aging invites the public to participate in a livestream viewing session of the conference from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Monroe County Public Library (MCPL), 303 E. Kirkwood Ave., Rm. 2A. There will be a break from 12:20 to 1:20 p.m. for participants to obtain their own lunch if they wish.

The Conference will focus on four key issues: healthy aging, long-term services and supports, elder justice and retirement security. WHCOA organizers have been gathering input from older Americans, their families, caregivers and the general public throughout the past year in regional forums and via their website. Through this input, detailed policy briefs have been prepared on each of the four key issues, which can be found in full on the WHCOA website, www.whitehouseconferenceonaging.gov.

The viewing will offer participants the chance to join in on Bloomington’s discussion of “the landscape for older Americans for the next decade.”  Commissioners will be present at MCPL throughout the livestream session. Members of the public are welcome to join the event at any point; no pre-registration is required.

For additional information, contact Program Specialist Sue Owens at owenss@bloomington.in.gov or 812.349.3468.

Free screening of the documentary Alive Inside

Thursday May 14, 2015 at 6:45 pm

Monroe County Library Auditorium

Speaker: Michael Gerhard of Ball State University and Music and Memory - Muncie

Alive Inside is a joyous cinematic exploration of music’s capacity to reawaken our souls and uncover the deepest parts of our humanity. This stirring documentary follows social worker Dan Cohen, founder of the nonprofit organization Music & Memory, as he fights against a broken healthcare system to demonstrate music’s astonishing ability to combat memory loss and restore a deep sense of self. Directed by Michael Rossato-Bennett.

Sponsors: The Center on Aging and Community at Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, 

Monroe County Public Library, and The Ryder Film Series

More information: http://tinyurl.com/AliveInsideBtown

Creative Aging Festival and Symposium

Bloomington, Ind. – In celebration of Older Americans Month, the City of Bloomington Commission on Aging invites the community to participate in the Fifth Annual Creative Aging Festival, a series of events offered throughout the month of May. Several local organizations will be holding events, including art exhibits, musical performances, workshops and informational presentations. The events will help showcase the talents and skills of both established and emerging older artists, writers and performers; promote inter-generational understanding and increase awareness of the value of creative engagement.

The Commission is adding an inaugural event this year, the Creative Aging Festival Symposium. The two-day Symposium will be held May 14 – 15, and its presenters will include both national and local experts from health-related professions, the arts, community development and other relevant specializations. Each day of the Symposium will offer several events at various locations.

Copies of the Creative Aging Festival program guides will be available in many arts and aging venues in the community and City Hall, 401 N. Morton St.  Request for a guide by mail can be submitted to Sue Owens at owenss@bloomington.in.gov or 812.349.3468. The guide also will be available online at www.bloomington.in.gov/coa and http://www.creativeagingfestivalbloomington.com.

The Commission on Aging meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall in the Hooker Conference Room, 401 N. Morton St., Ste 245.  All commission meetings are open to the public and minutes from meetings can be found on the Commission’s website at www.bloomington.in.gov/coa.

For additional information, contact Program Specialist Sue Owens at owenss@bloomington.in.gov or 812.349.3468.

Design for a Small (Aging) Planet

A Public Symposium on New Thinking about the Design of Environments for A Lifetime – From Closet to Community

Join others on Thursday, April 30 (5-7:30 p.m.) and Friday, May 1 (8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.), 2015 at the Indiana Memorial Union at Indiana University in Bloomington to discuss how we can design our environments for our aging planet.

Get all the facts at:
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/index.php?pageId=3751

Save the Date! Design for a Small (Aging) Planet Symposium

Organized by the Center on Aging and Community, a public symposium will be offered in conjunction with the City of Bloomington's Creative Aging Festival. This symposium will offer topics on new thinking about the design of environments for a lifetime–from closet to community.

Dates:
Thursday April 30 (5-7:00 pm) - Friday, May 1 (8:30 am–3:30 pm)
         
Location:
Indiana Memorial Union at Indiana University in Bloomington

Conference fee:
$60.00, includes reception, breakfast, and luncheon

For more information on this symposium, please visit:

http://lifetimecommunities.org/workshops%20and%20presentations/index.html

Mobile App Monday - Medicare Provider Locator

Need to search for Medicare providers? This App allows users to find them through either their geo-location or inputting a city and state. Great for those who need to move to a different place or want to take that lifetime trip across the country!

Want more information? Please visit:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/medicare-provider-locator/id545314989?mt=8

Family Caregivers Education Series

Indiana University Health will host a free two-day workshop on Saturday, September 27th and Saturday, October 11, 2014 focusing on caring for the seniors in your life. Both sessions will be held at the Sherwood Oaks Christian Church in Bloomington.

Workshop topics will address:

What it means to be a caregiver;
Changing relationships in Alzheimer’s;
Communication/behaviors in Alzheimer’s;
End of life issues;
Home safety/mobility;
Dietary needs for older adults;
Resources in our Community: Where to go for help;
Having difficult conversations; and
Legal issues to consider.

Respite care will be provided. To register, contact Mary Boutain at (812) 876-3383, Ext. 505 or e-mail mboutain@area10agency.org. The deadline to register is Monday, September 22, 2014.

Commission on Aging Offers Fourth Annual Creative Aging Festival

Bloomington, Ind. – In celebration of Older Americans Month in May, the City of Bloomington Commission on Aging invites the community to celebrate creativity and our aging population. Since Bloomington is known as both an arts and retirement destination, the Commission seeks to enhance these two attributes through offering the Fourth Annual Creative Aging Festival in May.

The primary objectives of the Creative Aging Festival are to highlight the artistic talents of older adults; promote intergenerational understanding through dialogue, sharing traditions, and storytelling and increase awareness about the value of creative engagement to adult health and well-being.  

The Commission has developed an online Creative Aging Festival Program Guide, which will feature creative aging events and exhibits in May.  Printed guides will be distributed to arts and aging venues in the area. The Creative Aging Festival program guide can be viewed online at www.bloomington.in.gov/coa.

The Commission on Aging meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall Hooker Conference Room, Suite 245, 401 N. Morton St.  All commission meetings are open to the public and minutes from meetings can be found on the City of Bloomington website at www.bloomington.in.gov/coa.

For additional information, contact Program Specialist Sue Owens at owenss@bloomington.in.gov or 812-349-3468.

Free Webinar - Visitability: Building a Home Where Everyone is Welcome

On Wednesday, July 31st, the Back Home in Indiana Alliance will sponsor a free webinar on the concept of "visitability" from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

The intent of visitable design is that newly constructed homes will both accommodate visitors with disabilities and promote the aging-in-place concept so that people may enjoy their homes without requiring major modifications when they, family, or friends face short or long-term mobility constraints. Visitable homes are built for the benefit of all.

For more information and to register for this free webinar, please visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/7412411723