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Memory Cafe group supports one another

Creative people continually come up with new ideas and ways to approach life's long-running challenges. Such was the case with a Dutch psychologist, Dr. Bere Miesen, who in 1997 came up with the idea of offering a regularly scheduled social gathering during which people with memory loss and their care companions could come together in a safe, supportive and social environment.

The concept proved so successful in the Netherlands that the idea has spread to the United States, England, Belgium, France, Sweden and Indonesia, because the challenges of living with memory loss can sever social connection at a time when it is needed most.

Memory and Alzheimer's Café gatherings — now numbering about 700 in the United States, with 40 in Illinois — are one way people with memory loss and their care companions can come together to make new friendships and support one another.

During these “Memory Cafe” gatherings, guests share conversation over a cup of coffee in a relaxed atmosphere that sometimes includes music, art, entertainment or even field trips. These “cafes” usually take place for a couple of hours once or twice a month in locations like community centers, libraries and restaurants.

Memory Cafe Fox Valley is in its fourth year of meeting at the Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave., on the fourth Wednesday morning of each month (except during November and December when the timing is adjusted because of the holidays). It was begun by former Geneva alderman Sam Hill who found himself in the early stages of the disease. He asked his friend, Jim King, to work with him to set up a group that would allow him and others in a similar situation to socialize.

Its current coordinators, Barbara and Jim King and John McNeely, take pride in providing participants in the early stages of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment or similar conditions with engaging social and enrichment opportunities.

The Memory Cafe provides a relaxed, comfortable environment to share information that helps those newly diagnosed, who meet others in similar situations. A memory cafe is a gathering, not a place, said Barbara King. Part “coffee klatch” and part seminar, a typical meeting offers both socialization and low-key mental stimulation.

“We have discovered that socialization is very important to people in the early stages of Alzheimer's because many times their longtime friends are dropping them and when they do not socialize, they succumb to the disease more quickly,” McNeely added.

McNeely got involved in the program after he lost his wife to the disease and Barbara got involved because she had a close friend who suffered from it.

“You would have a hard time finding someone who hasn't had a friend or relative affected by this disease,” McNeely said. “One in nine people over the age of 65 suffers from it and it kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined, so it is very costly to our society.”

Activities during the first several years of the cafe have included music and art therapy, visits to forest preserves and gardens for guided tours and picnics, game and puzzle days, animal visits, virtual travel, trips to Kane County Cougars baseball games, speakers on topics such as wellness and mindfulness, holiday parties and much more. Participants also walk each year in the local Alzheimer's Association fundraising walk held in St. Charles.

Generally, about 12 participants with memory issues, accompanied by their caregivers, attend each month, coming from throughout the Fox Valley and nearby areas to meet, King and McNeely said. There is no charge.

“Memory Cafes also benefit the caregivers. It gives them the opportunity to talk among themselves and socialize,” McNeely added.

Additional information is available on the MCFV website, www.memorycafefoxvalley.com, or by calling Barbara at (630) 643-2263.

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