While dementia is often viewed through a lens of loss, a recent essay and insights from IOA’s Lead Caregiver Coach, Alexandra Kaplan, reveal the unexpected moments of connection, humor, and love that can still shine through. This fresh perspective invites caregivers to embrace the beauty that can exist alongside the challenges.
Communicating with a loved one who has dementia can be challenging, but asking thoughtful questions can spark meaningful conversations and foster connection. At the Institute on Aging, we provide resources like our Companioa program to support families in navigating dementia care with compassion and confidence.
The Friendship Line, pioneered by Institute on Aging, is a vital resource addressing the growing crisis of loneliness among seniors by offering emotional support and social connection. Backed by scientific research, this program has demonstrated significant improvements in mental health, reducing loneliness, depression, and anxiety, while serving as a model for integrating social support into healthcare systems nationwide.
IOA promotes outdoor movement for aging adults through programs like the Enrichment Center and partnerships with Cycling Without Age, offering accessible activities such as tandem bike rides. These initiatives enhance well-being, independence, and cognitive health by fostering community and connection with nature.
Nestled in the heart of the Presidio, IOA’s Enrichment Center harnesses the power of nature to enhance dementia care, providing Companioa members with rejuvenating outdoor experiences that improve mood, focus, and overall well-being.
Think about San Francisco, and what do you imagine? If you live here, you probably think of the street you live on, your favorite neighborhoods, the traffic, or the buildings. That’s normal; we live in the human environment. But we also live in the natural environment, even if it doesn’t always seem that way.
Camilla and Susan were best friends for more than 40 years, ever since their kids were in school together. Both widowed in the last decade, they grew even closer to each other. Camilla even moved into Susan’s apartment building in the Mission Terrace area of San Francisco so they could spend every day together.
The expansion of our senior population in the coming decades means new challenges for supporting each individual with their needs and their personal goals in later life. It also means new opportunities as these aging adults look for fitting ways to stay involved and serve their local San Francisco Bay Area communities. With a wealth of life experience and an investment in aging healthfully and vibrantly, seniors themselves may be an invaluable support system to help meet some of the challenges of the growing senior demographic.
Larry was devastated when he lost his wife, Edna. He’d spent almost every day with her for 67 years, and when she was gone he felt as though he’d lost part of himself. Larry had always been a quiet man—he wasn’t one to share his feelings or speak his mind, but over the years he had learned to open up to Edna. Without her, he fell silent and felt isolated from the rest of the world.
Too often when we talk about the disabled population, we focus on what they can’t do. But much more important is what they can do, and that list of possibilities grows all the time as new technologies reverse impossibilities and courageous people blaze new trails. But for those people with disabilities who are not connected to the many opportunities or who lack the confidence to dive in, life can be isolating and limiting.
Institute on Aging (IOA) CONNECT is your direct line to us and the starting point for help with your concerns about the needs of older adults and adults with disabilities. IOA CONNECT links you with our services, as well as community services available. Reach out to connect with us.
Phone: (415) 750 – 4111 | Fax: (415) 750 – 5338
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