Since Oct. 23, 2024, Pathways respite ministry at The Church at Liberty Park in Vestavia Hills has been helping three communities within one program. Each Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pathways provides respite for caregivers of adults with dementia, stimulation and socializing for participants with dementia and a fun way for volunteers to serve others.
Leigh Simmons, director of Pathways, explained why this kind of program is needed.
“Across the board, [experts on dementia] say socialization is the thing people need. Even though they might be forgetting a process of how to do something, they are still capable of creating new memories,” she said.
Those with dementia need almost constant stimulation and attention. Meeting their needs is exhausting for caregivers — and this is before any socializing occurs.
Fellowship combined with fun is the heart of this ministry and is evidenced throughout all their core activities: devotions, brain fitness, art, music, exercise and lunch.
A devotion begins the day. Game times include questions to encourage recalling and sharing memories. Exercise times are playful and facilitate working together. Art helps with fine motor skills as well as accomplishment.
Special guests include musicians, singers and dancers. A candle maker, carpenter, golf pro and art professors have each shared their expertise, and an antique car show is being planned.
One highlight of the time is the hot, catered lunch, which helps combat nourishment difficulties and encourage fellowship as participants, volunteers and special guests eat together. Printed cards are available if needed to remember the sweet blessing they say in unison before the meal: “Bless the food before us, the family beside us and the love between us. Amen.”
Food is served by the “bluebirds,” volunteers who do everything from setting up in the morning to serving the food to cleaning up afterward. Simmons is very thankful for them and the other volunteers.
“Without Diane Watkins (the assistant director) and our bluebirds and the volunteers and the support of the staff, there’s no way this would be. There’s just no way. I want to give God the glory first, but then, if we didn’t have all those people, all those selfless people who ask for nothing for themselves — I mean, nothing. They’re always excited and they’re always friendly, and we just roll with the punches.”
Though on the surface, the program is for those with dementia, volunteers and guests leave feeling that they’ve gained much more than they’ve given.
Meeting a need
In addition, the respite side of it is not discounted, especially by Simmons. For 10 years, she was the primary caregiver for her mother who had Alzheimer’s disease while she was also raising her elementary- to high school-aged children. She knows how important respite is.
“It was a very lonely, difficult road. I never thought I wanted to have anything to do with memory loss ever again, so this has been quite a surprise to me that this has become such a love of mine,” she said.
Simmons was on the missions council at The Church at Liberty Park when she was told that a ministry for those with memory loss at Canterbury United Methodist Church in Mountain Brook was trying to get more churches involved. As the only one with personal experience, Simmons agreed to investigate.
After a phone call with one of the locations and a two-hour visit at another, she loved what she saw and wanted to see more. She made an appointment to spend an entire day observing at Canterbury United Methodist.
“I was just blown away by the whole program, how organized it was, how much fun they were having, how many volunteers were there and the fact that you could hardly tell who was a volunteer.” she said.
After visiting other sites and learning even more about the ministry, Simmons relayed the information to her church leaders. They loved the idea and hosted a kickoff Sept. 16 with a luncheon and speakers explaining the program.
Requirements for the participants are the ability to walk independently or with a cane or walker and to feed themselves, manage toileting and function in a group setting. The cost is $50 for each session, although there are scholarships available.
From the start, volunteers weren’t hard to find and resulted in a 2-1 ratio of volunteers to participants. After applying and having a background check, they serve by being a companion to participants, helping with lunch, leading a class, taking care of supplies or assisting with administration duties.
Simmons still can’t believe how much she now loves what she actively avoided.
“[Being a caregiver] was just a difficult time. I just did not want to look back on that time. What I’ve learned about God is He doesn’t waste any time in our lives. He doesn’t waste any bad memories. It’s all part of His plan to ultimately work out His glory and for us to look more like His Son.
“Sometimes it’s a painful journey to get there, but He’s always working behind the scenes for our best good. He doesn’t want us to shove these things, these bad memories down.
“He wants us to see where He was — that He was there with us the whole time just working behind the scenes to work something out in the future.”
To learn more about Pathways go to https://www.libertypark.org/pathways.
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