We started class with a debrief on our recent LEG at the West Center. It was great to see so many seniors participating and enthusiastically exchanging stories with us. Besides the time of the event coinciding with lunch time at the West Center, before the event started, we walked around and personally invited some of the seniors to sit with us and have a conversation over some light refreshments while they waited for the next lunch period to start. Some of the West Center staff and volunteers themselves had also encouraged some of the seniors to join. Sometimes it really does just take a few words and a little nudge to get something going! After the LEG debrief, we went into my group’s presentation of the second half of Leland’s book. From the reading, and although not one of the elders whose stories Leland particularly focused on, Anne and her story really stood out to me. She took care of John, her mother, and her husband’s parents, and as well as Walter before he had passed. She was taking care of everything from their medical care to their insurance, and even their personal finances. She made regular visits to check on how they were doing, to make sure they were taking their medications, and more. In the book, Leland says that 90% of caretakers are unpaid, as they are mostly family and friends. As a class, we talked about different ways we could help these caretakers, whether it be through financial or emotional support, or even just finding ways to give them more time for themselves. We discussed support groups comprised of other caretakers and professionals to provide them with an outlet to express their concerns or share their experiences. We also discussed possible care arrangements involving other professionals that could switch with caretakers even for just a small part of their day. With all the discussion of supporting caretakers, I think it’s also important that the dialogue and conversations that revolve around the situation doesn’t make them feel guilty for seeking time for themselves nor should any senior that is being cared for in this way, feel like they are a burden to their loved ones.
For the latter part of the class, we met with our HAP groups and tried to get some work done for our respective projects. It’s been pretty difficult contacting and confirming businesses’ involvement in our HAP for the West Center. Several businesses were unable to confirm because they needed approval from more senior staff members, if we got any responses at all. However, there is some progress in other aspects of our HAP. We are close to finalizing details for massages, we received some donations for our clothing drive from Casa residents, and we received a donation of about 120 toothbrushes from a dental clinic! Hopefully, within the next week or so, we’ll be able to get some salons and beauty schools on board with our HAP and give the seniors at the West Center a day of pampering and relaxation. After meeting with the West Center HAP group, I joined my other HAP groupmates to cut and collect succulents for our first succulent workshop happening on Friday, May 10. Earlier this quarter, Chris Johnson, the groundskeeper at UCSD, showed us around the gardens at ERC and taught us how to cut and collect succulents. In the short amount of time we met with him, I learned so much about succulents, how they grow and how to keep them healthy. He even let us borrow a book on gardening with succulents! If you’re reading this, thank you so much Chris! I am so excited for our upcoming succulent workshop at Potiker and hope the seniors there enjoy what we have prepared for them.
For the latter part of the class, we met with our HAP groups and tried to get some work done for our respective projects. It’s been pretty difficult contacting and confirming businesses’ involvement in our HAP for the West Center. Several businesses were unable to confirm because they needed approval from more senior staff members, if we got any responses at all. However, there is some progress in other aspects of our HAP. We are close to finalizing details for massages, we received some donations for our clothing drive from Casa residents, and we received a donation of about 120 toothbrushes from a dental clinic! Hopefully, within the next week or so, we’ll be able to get some salons and beauty schools on board with our HAP and give the seniors at the West Center a day of pampering and relaxation. After meeting with the West Center HAP group, I joined my other HAP groupmates to cut and collect succulents for our first succulent workshop happening on Friday, May 10. Earlier this quarter, Chris Johnson, the groundskeeper at UCSD, showed us around the gardens at ERC and taught us how to cut and collect succulents. In the short amount of time we met with him, I learned so much about succulents, how they grow and how to keep them healthy. He even let us borrow a book on gardening with succulents! If you’re reading this, thank you so much Chris! I am so excited for our upcoming succulent workshop at Potiker and hope the seniors there enjoy what we have prepared for them.