Memory Lane Home Living Event: “Lemonade & Butterflies” on August 17th, 2017
Come and spend an evening with our staff at Memory Lane Home Living and learn why this model is the way of the future for dementia care and the success of this type of model in Europe.
Memory Lane Home Living will be organizing this event called “Lemonade & Butterflies” on August 17th, 2017 from 7p.m. to 9 p.m.
Memory Lane Home Living Inc. is opening a Christian co-operative house in Richmond Hill, Ontario for 5 elderly women with mild dementia who cannot live Safely on their own. 
For more information contact 905-237-1419.
More information on Memory Home Living:
Memory Lane Home Living Inc. is a small, private, non-profit home for up to five (5) elderly women with mild dementia who can no longer safely live on their own. These women continue to have their independence in a supervised setting. They participate in everyday living within the home and in the community. We are located in the heart of Richmond Hill, ON and have walking access to parks, churches, community and senior centres, the library, shopping and more.
Using a non-medical model for dementia care from Europe, we create a co-housing type of structure where families and their loved ones have a say in their care and experience a sense of community with the other residents and their families. This specific model of care originates in Berlin, Germany and is called ‘Freunde alter Menschen,’ in partnership with ‘Les Petits Frères des Pauvres.’ There are over 300 of these homes successfully operating in Berlin and over 600 homes operating in all of Germany for the past twenty years. The success of these ‘living communities’ is represented by: (1) the home setting where a small number of residents are given opportunities to feel useful; and (2) the provision of a small, constant reference group. These two factors allow residents to have a sense of ‘belonging’ in the dementia journey. Klaus Pawletko, the sociologist who is in charge of setting up these homes in Berlin, states that such an environment helps to reduce medication and gives the families of the elderly the ‘peace of mind’ that their loved one is being well cared for.
At Memory Lane Home Living Inc., we use a person-centred care model and insist that all who volunteer and work with these elderly women have training / experience with dementia. Person-centred care is usually achieved in a small setting where the ratio of supervision is low and the emphasis is on relationships. Dr. David Sheard, founder of the ‘Butterfly Care’ concept in dementia care in the UK, states that relationships are the most important part of dementia care. He believes that in order to develop relationships, we have to be able to meet the elderly with dementia where they are at in their journey, not where we think they should be at.
At Memory Lane Home Living Inc., we operate at approximately a two care person to one resident ratio of care support. This ratio allows the women to live as normal a life as possible while reducing the symptoms of this disease. The dementia journey is a journey of love, compassion and care. We use our empathy to empower these women during this chapter of their life.
