Help is Available for Families Caring for Someone with Dementia

The Area Agency on Aging 1-B (AAA 1-B) and the Alzheimer’s Association - Greater Michigan Chapter are hosting a free training program in West Bloomfield, starting Thursday, May 1, 2014 for families concerned about and/or caring for someone with a dementia related illness, such as Alzheimer’s disease.  The Creating Confident Caregivers™ (CCC) training will be held once a week for six weeks at the Dorothy & Peter Brown Jewish Community Adult Day Program at Jewish Senior Life (6710 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322) on Thursdays, May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and Friday, June 6, 2014 from 10:00 am. to 12:00 pm. 

The CCC program has been proven to reduce caregiver stress by empowering caregivers with useful tools and information.  The trainings are held for two hours, once a week for six weeks. Caregivers are expected and encouraged to attend all six classes in order to complete the training.  Respite care is also available onsite to participants free of charge at Dorothy & Peter Brown Jewish Adult Day Program.  All materials, flyers, and training books are provided by the AAA 1-B, and there is no cost for the caregiver to attend this training.  The class is limited to 12 participants.  Up to three members from one family can attend a training together. 

“The CCC program is unique because it is designed to address very specific challenges that caregivers of a person with dementia experience,” said CCC Trainer Cathy Backos, LPN, and Respite Care Manager at the Area Agency on Aging 1-B. “Caregivers should not view this as a support group, but as an opportunity to learn new information and strategies that will help them improve their ability to care for their family member.”

This program is supported, in part, by the U.S. Administration on Aging through its Alzheimer’s Disease Demonstration Grants to States, the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging, the Area Agency on Aging 1-B, and the Alzheimer’s Association – Greater Michigan Chapter. 

To register for the CCC training program, as well as on-site respite care, call the Area Agency on Aging 1-B at (800) 852-7795, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.