Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana, offers a weekly respite care session for adults with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This gives their family caregivers an opportunity to rest or run errands. There is also a support group session once a month for those caregivers to spend time with others in similar situations and decompress a little, sharing frustrations, joys and helpful tips.
With more and more older adults and even some middle-aged adults receiving a diagnosis of dementia, this is proving to be a welcomed service that the church is able to offer to bless the people in their community and share the love of God.
Closer look at dementia
Dementia is defined by dictionary.com as “a condition characterized by progressive, persistent, severe impairment of intellectual capacity, including memory loss, confusion and emotional instability, resulting from the loss of or damage to neurons in the brain.” There are several types of dementia, but Alzheimer’s disease is the most common. That is closely followed by dementia caused by vascular strokes. The end result is that the person often has short-term memory loss, agitation, confusion and difficulty with many common tasks and living skills.
When these folks are being cared for in the home by their family members, it can be a stressful situation for the family. Not every family is up to the challenge of 24-hour care seven days a week, but many go the extra mile to keep their loved ones in their own homes or live with them in the home of the person with dementia. Sometimes it becomes too much to handle, and an assisted-living or nursing care center becomes the next option.
But for those in this situation in Lake Charles, there is a reprieve offered for a few hours a week.
Meeting a need
Kevin Richard, the church counselor, along with volunteers Jimmy and Brenda Hoppe and Ben and Dena Darby, shared some stories of the ministry.
Richard described the ministry as “respite care for people who have dementia and Alzheimer’s and their caregivers.”
“We just want to give the caregivers a break while their family members are taken care of by volunteers,” he added. He said they have to be “ambulatory” (able to walk) and not in a nursing care facility.
The weekly Thursday sessions are about two hours in length. The support groups offered for the family members are once a month. They are well attended, and the ministry seems to be meeting a crucial need.
Ben Darby commented that they refer to the attendees as “friends or guests.” The volunteers engage them in games, activities, crafts, singing and snacks during the session. There is some Bible reading and a time of prayer. They spend time reassuring the guests about what will be happening. Some are a little fearful or anxious at first. Most of the time they settle in and participate.
The guests often feel like they are one with the volunteers doing the craft projects, he noted. They often make bead salvation bracelets or create greeting cards as an activity. These are used by other outreach ministries of the church.
They play bingo and dominoes, toss a beach ball around and throw blunt-tipped darts. Cornhole is another popular game.
A physical therapist often helps the guests do a round of exercise for about 15 minutes. Music is also a part of the session, and old-time gospel songs are a favorite. Even those who are nonverbal join in, and some of them can sing and remember the lyrics quite well, which surprises the volunteers.
“Music comes from deep within the heart, and it is still there even if they don’t talk anymore,” they said.
Brenda Hoppe pointed out that a recent session with the gospel salvation bead bracelets turned into an explanation of the gospel using the colored beads. One guest knew exactly what the beads represented and helped with the explanation. Another was not so sure but listened intently and took in the spiritual information.
Unknown territory
During the monthly caregiver support group sessions, there are discussions about what is working and what is not working. They talk about helping the older adults have good nutrition or keeping them protected from dangers such as eating spoiled food or engaging in otherwise dangerous activities.
They said it is not uncommon for caregivers to burst into tears as the sessions begin. They have a difficult life and are often kind of isolated because of the constant care they are providing for their loved ones. There is so much unknown territory for them to navigate.
Emotional, physical and spiritual stress are part of their experience. These stresses can lead to medical conditions. The support group helps them cope, and referrals are often made to assist the families.
The Hoppe and Darby families chimed in to say that the sessions are exhilarating for them and the guests. Some of the guests are initially resistant or fearful but often get comfortable and join in with the activities. Sometimes their family members will stay with them for a few sessions until they are comfortable.
Richard said it is proving to be an outreach ministry for the church. Some people are driving in from other communities because this ministry is meeting a great need for them. Some of the guests and their families are not members of the church, although many are.
Brenda Hoppe said the volunteers are eager to help other churches begin similar ministries in their communities. She said interested people should look at Respite For All Foundation at www.respiteforall.org. This is an organization based in Birmingham, Alabama, that has helped their church.
Punching ‘holes in the darkness’
Ben Darby said their mission is to “punch holes in the darkness with the light of Jesus.”
In Lake Charles, people with dementia and their families have some people who love them and want to show the love of Jesus as they meet their great needs.
For more information on this ministry, contact Kevin Richard by calling 337-480-1555 or email KRichard@tbclc.org. The website is https://tbclc.org/events/alzheimer-respite-group/.
