Community stroll highlights a year-round network of education, respite care and safety programs
By Nick J. Buckley / For Black Squirrel News
BATTLE CREEK — Pete Wines spent Sept. 19 handing out hot dogs as families circled the floor of Kellogg Arena.
His wife, Stacy Wines, knows the effects of dementia through both her work and her family. As CEO of CareWell Services Southwest, she leads an organization serving older adults, adults with disabilities and caregivers. Her father died from vascular dementia in August, and Pete is living with the disease.
“This is still my husband,” Wines said. “We just have to learn to maybe approach things differently and have reminders or front-load them all the time.”
More than 100 people attended the Miles for Memories community stroll, which was moved inside due to rain. The event raises awareness and money for local dementia programs while bringing people together through movement, music and activities.
Miles for Memories partners with area senior service providers, care facilities, law enforcement agencies, first responders and the Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority to connect residents with education, respite assistance and safety programs.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. It affected an estimated 2,800 Calhoun County residents age 65 and older in 2020, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Sherii Sherban helped found Miles for Memories in 2013 after dementia affected members of her own family. The organization supports research, she said, but families also need ways to remain connected and engaged after a diagnosis.
“How can we make that life that’s here now vital and vibrant?” Sherban said.
Miles for Memories says it uses locally raised money for community programming and sends 20% of its funds to prevention-related dementia research. Longtime volunteer Sharon Zapata said that immediate, local focus is what has sustained her involvement for about a decade.
“National organizations focus on raising funds for research, which is fantastic, but local families need assistance now,” Zapata said. “It’s all about community, enriching each other, supporting each other. Community matters.”
Miles for Memories offers educational programs and caregiver retreats, along with financial assistance for respite care. CareWell Services is among its local partners.
Wines said respite funding can provide someone to stay with a person living with dementia while a caregiver takes care of their own needs.
“Caregivers get burned up quick,” she said.
Helping people return home
One of the organization’s most tangible responses began after its first walk, when leaders asked families and emergency responders what local need should be addressed first.
Sherban said they heard concerns about people with dementia wandering away from home.
Miles for Memories brought together 911 dispatchers, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and other emergency responders. Their conversations led to the Help Home Program, a database maintained by the authority’s 911 center.
Authorized family members can provide identifying information, a current residence and emergency contacts for a person living with dementia. If the person is found away from home, patrol officers can access the information, contact family and potentially avoid an unnecessary trip to the hospital.
The organization later added Personal ID Bracelets, which allow first responders to identify the wearer and access a medical profile and caregiver contact information. Other Safe Return tools include caregiver identification cards and electronic profiles.
Sherban said the Safe Return programs have helped 478 people get home safely, including 378 Calhoun County residents and 100 people from surrounding communities. The latest case occurred a few weeks before the stroll, when the person was identified quickly, avoiding an unnecessary hospital visit.
With support from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, Miles for Memories also shares its Safe Return training and identification tools with communities across Michigan.
Continuing to show up
The annual event aims to bring dementia into public view and challenge some of the fear and stigma surrounding it.
“I do think that we are slowly chipping away at [the stigma], but we are far from done,” Sherban said.
Attendees spanned generations, including children, older adults, caregivers, volunteers and people living with dementia. Sherban said education can help families understand how to remain connected after a diagnosis.
“One of the biggest things is helping children understand they don’t have to be afraid of grandma, but they can approach them and love them still and engage with them,” she said.
Learn more: Richard Piet’s Creating Dementia Solutions podcast series, produced with Miles for Memories, explores caregiving, research, risk reduction and the experiences of people affected by dementia.
How we reported this: Black Squirrel News attended the Sept. 19 Miles for Memories Community Stroll at Kellogg Arena, spoke with organizers, attendees and local service providers, and reviewed program information, public data and previous local reporting about Miles for Memories and dementia services in Calhoun County.
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