Ending the social stigma
Memory Café NS wins national award for work in creating fun, welcoming environments
Memory Café NS is celebrating national recognition with a win at the recent Dementia-Friendly Communities awards.
The project was born out of Wolfville’s Memory Café project, which was started in 2019 via collaboration between Dr. Beverley Cassidy, a local geriatric psychiatrist, and Wolfville recreation staff.
The team has grown to include several local volunteers and has been successful in developing programming now used in other municipalities and communities across Nova Scotia.
The awards, which were created by the DementiaFriendly Canada project, are designed to recognize the phenomenal work being done across the country to make Canada a place that is inclusive and supportive for people affected by dementia.
There were six different categories at the inaugural award ceremony. Wolfville’s Memory Café was recognized in the grassroots category.
“On behalf of our team, I would like to thank you for shining a light on persons living with dementia in rural communities,” Memory Café facilitator Kevin West said during an acceptance speech shown during the ceremony.
Dementia-Friendly Canada recognized the café as a vital program to encourage community and conversation.
“Social activity is critical to the quality of life for people living with dementia and we thank everyone involved with the café for helping enable this,” it said in announcing the winners.
Cassidy said she thinks every community in Nova Scotia ought to challenge itself to build more agefriendly activities.
“The near doubling of our lifespans in the last 100 years is an amazing feat in the course of human history. But it means we are quite new at thinking about how to live that second half well,” she said.
“Here on the Bay of Fundy we have the highest tides in the world, and our Atlantic region leads the wave of population tides in Canada as well. About 22 per cent of Atlantic Canadians are 65 or older, compared with 15 per cent of people in the rest of the country. So, thinking about how to help ourselves age well – optimizing ‘health span’ versus ‘disease span’ – is really important for us in Nova Scotia.”
Cassidy said she believes
working to make sure people can stay active and connected in their communities with the support they need to age well in place will be major targets. Age-friendly activities encourage everyone to feel welcome, engaged and valuable in their communities.
“Memory Cafés are sustainable and low cost anywhere that there is accessible café space and internet access for virtual events,” she said.
MUSIC
Cassidy said culture is an important component of the cafés.
“Musicians and artists are amazing natural resources in Nova Scotia. Live music can bring such joy and help people feel connected in the face of many barriers, such as when short-term memory trouble makes conversation a challenge.”
At the Memory Cafés, she notes, it’s wonderful “to see the smiles come out, the feet start to tap and for dancing to break out. Memory Cafés can turn into real kitchen parties when they get going.”
Musical memory is stored in many deep layers of the brain, Cassidy said, so even if someone has trouble remembering their children’s names, they may still be able to play The Moonlight Sonata.
The ability to create, she added, is not memory-dependent, so “interactive art is a huge part of our program. Elizabeth Sircom and Holly Carr have been fantastic leads in sharing clay making, silk painting and helping us enjoy our imaginations at Memory Cafés.
“They also help us create stories together through art, which really promotes connectivity in the group. You
don’t need artistic talent – just a willingness to try something new.”
FEEDBACK
Organizers have an easy way to measure the success with participants and caregivers.
“Usually, the smiles on people’s faces are what help us know we are on track,” Cassidy said. “And if people keep coming back. More formally, we seek participant feedback at the end of each series with anonymous questionnaires to ask whether attending Memory Cafés adds to a sense of well-being and to social connection.”
The same questions are asked to persons living with dementia as well as care partners, since both are at risk to feel isolated and burdened by living and coping with illness. All respondents have said Memory Cafés add to their
sense of well-being, and 92 per cent feel they add to their social connection, Cassidy said.
“Care partners tell us how much they enjoy feeling ‘like they are on a date’ with their partners.
“We also try to design each series to address the expressed emotional needs of persons living with dementia and care partners: dealing with transitions and loss, the need for stimulation, trying something new, and feeling connected to friends, family and community,” she said.
“Success can just be sharing those feelings in a safe space where we hope everyone feels that they belong.”
INTRODUCTION
Cassidy said she first heard about Memory Cafés from Beth Soltzberg, who she described as “an amazing advocate” who has assisted in the hundreds of cafés being formed in the United States. “She told me how much joy she experiences at Memory Cafés and it was the first time I had heard the words dementia and joy in the same sentence. I thought if she can help launch hundreds, maybe I can start at least one.”
The very first Memory
Café was started in Leiden, Holland, in 1997 by a Dutch psychologist Bere Miesen. He wanted people with dementia to feel welcome and remain part of the community, so he opened a café with a big sign saying ‘Alzheimers Café’ in blue neon lights.
“He recognized the need to break through stigma and fear and to encourage people not to hide away with Alzheimer’s disease. I think the very same need exists today,” Cassidy said.
“We are so grateful for all of our ‘green light’ settings around the province where Memory Cafés are hosted.”
Memory Cafés provide a welcoming space with interactive activities designed specifically for people on the dementia journey. Their goal is to end social stigma and help build communities, she says.
“Anyone who enjoys relaxing in a café setting will enjoy a Memory Café,” said Cassidy. “Whether in person or online, Memory Cafés are fun, welcoming environments where memory challenges don’t matter. We will have musical guests and artists to add a bit of toe tapping and imagination.”
The cafés help support positive brain health, as staying connected socially helps people stay connected mentally. Research increasingly shows social isolation is a significant risk factor for physical and mental health for both persons with dementia and their caregivers.
Casidy said they help participants join its Zoom Cafés monthly through the winter months.
“Fill your mug with your favourite hot drink and sit back and relax,” she said.
“The Memory Café host will greet café participants and launch some fun ‘round the Zoom table’ conversations based on imagination, not memory.”
Attendees come together to relax, chat, enjoy activities or some music by a guest artist who is invited to the café. Sometimes a guest is invited to share useful information, including support for caregivers in the area, or for education on memory disorders, including dementia supports and other local resources.