Sitting in a new, fully wired conference room in the new, fully wired (with caffeine and technology) Soref Learning Commons in the UWM library, with 3 really smart students and a really smart colleague – in a heated discussion about discovering themes/images/iterations of the Penelope story that will inform our discussions with family, staff, and residents in long term care this fall. This project is a thrill…
By way of update, we’ve received a Wisconsin Humanities Grant and a Wisconsin Arts Board grant to support the project (via Luther Manor). We’ve received funding from the Office of Undergraduate Research to support two of our hearty team of students (paying them to do research!). The Brookdale Foundation and Helen Bader Foundation has granted us $16,000 and $20,000 respectively to support this project. The budget is large – so we have a ways to go – but we’re on the way.
The next steps for the student team are to create a presentation on the project for the National Association of Activity Professionals conference here in Milwaukee on April 16th. Three members of the Sojourn Theatre ensemble are coming into town (from all three coasts – New York, LA, and Chicago!) to participate in that presentation and in a training the next day at Luther Manor for staff, volunteers, students and ensemble members. The training is an introduction to person-centered care (or person-directed care, or relational care…) and creative engagement. We see this project as a way to demonstrate the core skills needed to get staff/family/residents on the road to more holistic care – which emphasizes the quality of life, not just physical maintenance.
Fore more on this project, see The Center on Age & Community website, and click on Creativity.
