HOW TO ACCESS OUR SERVICES
Our services can be accessed via a referral to First Link by contacting our organization in person, by phone, or fax.  Any individual can make a referral to our Organization.

PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
We offer a range of programs and services that operate along the continuum of care reflecting the journey through the disease process. Our programs respond to the need for individualized home-based support and education, while providing further opportunities for education, socialization and support in community settings.  Since we see people in the context of their own homes and local communities we can access first hand their needs and identify existing capacities. This enables us to provide a meaningful response – one that ultimately builds supportive, caring environments.

General Eligibility:

• A person who exhibits symptoms of dementia

• A family member caring for someone exhibiting symptoms of dementia

First Link^©
First Link is a referral program that connects individuals diagnosed with dementia and their families early in the disease process to appropriate supports by enhancing partnerships with primary care physicians, family health teams, and community service agencies.  Once referred to the Alzheimer Society our first link coordinator connects the individual and their families to appropriate community supports in addition to the range of services we offer.

Client support services-Outreach
Our client support services offer individualized support and education by case counsellors with expertise in dementia, most of whom are regulated health professionals. Case counselors travel to local communities across the Niagara Region, providing outreach in the form of home-visits.  Their holistic approach enables them to respond to the physical, social and emotional needs of families, and offer practical solutions to daily challenges associated with dementia. Client support services comprise of three interrelated outreach programs.  These programs have evolved in response to the varying levels of risk and support required for people with dementia living in the community.

Programs include:

1)     Supporting Independent Living

2)     Intensive Support

3)     Family Support

1.   Supporting Independent Living

      1 ASNR Staff within the team

The SIL program is a joint program with the Niagara Region (Seniors Community Programs and Community Mental Health). This program addresses the immediate needs of vulnerable seniors living in the community. The SIL team works rapidly to minimize imminent risks to seniors in an effort to avert crises. Once risk has been reduced, seniors with dementia are transferred to our intensive support or family support programs as appropriate from the SIL program. 

2.   Intensive Support – 2 Case Counsellors

The intensive case counsellors respond to the most complex situations involving individuals with dementia referred to the society. This typically includes people who are at moderate risk of harm/adverse outcome if intensive support is not provided to avert crises. These individuals often present with few or no supports and also have psychiatric or mental health issues that impact upon their functioning and safety within the community. 

3.   Family Support – 8 Case Counsellors

The Family support program offers individuals with dementia and caregivers strategies to help them manage the everyday challenges associated with dementia as it relates to their unique experience.  Case counsellors work with people with dementia, caregivers and local communities to help create supportive environments that promote health, safety, and meaningful engagement in home and community life. A key aspect of their role is strengthening resilience through system navigation, facilitating linkages with services and building upon informal and formal networks of support.

Drop In/ Phone Support:  People within the community affected by dementia have access to immediate assistance in the form of education, information and support Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.

Early Stage Programs
We provide the following programs to support persons in the early stages of dementia and their caregivers.

• ‘Beyond Words’ Early Learning Series: A ten week learning series for persons in the early-stage of dementia and their caregivers. Educational content is linked specifically to the group’s experiences and open dialogue and communication is encouraged. Because the experiences of people with dementia and caregivers are interrelated yet unique, our learning series provide the opportunity for these groups to meet together and separately with their peers.

• Coffee Club:  An opportunity for caregivers and persons in the early stages of dementia to meet in an informal social setting with their peers. The early stage coordinator provides the space for the coffee club and is available as needed, but this program is essentially ‘drop-in’ and peer driven.

• R.E.B.E.L. group: A monthly social gathering for those with dementia together with their caregivers where entertainment and education is provided according to the group’s interests.

• Wellness Day program: An opportunity for persons in the early-stages of dementia to engage in meaningful, fun, and health promoting activities in a social setting.

TLC- COMMUNITY HUB
The Therapeutic Living Centre (TLC) is a ‘community hub.’ Its services focus on creating supportive environments within the Niagara community that promote the continuous involvement of people with dementia in family and community life. The TLC has two service streams:  The ‘Home-Sense’ stream and the ‘Community Connections’ stream.

The ‘Home- Sense’ stream focuses on home and environmental adaptation to maximize safety, independence and participation in the home and community. We provide individualized consultation for our clients, the general public and other community partners in the TLC suite.

Through the Home-Sense stream clients can also access aids and assistive devices (e.g. equipment, taxi voucher, incontinence products. Please not there are specific eligibility requirements for aids and assistive devices.

 The ‘Community Connections’ stream aims to decrease feelings of isolation, increase  resilience and build networks of support together with people with dementia, their caregivers and families.  This includes opportunities to socialize, engage in meaningful, health-promoting activities and access information.  Programs run through the community connections stream take place at the TLC suite or in other community settings within the region; they are continuously growing and evolving in response to needs and interests in the community. Many of our early stage programs are a part of the community connections stream.

Support Groups

Support groups provide an opportunity for caregivers who share a similar experience to support one another, exchange information and ideas and in doing so, strength their capacity to cope. Case counsellors facilitate these groups and offer information and guidance according to the needs and interests of the groups. Support groups operate monthly throughout the year with the exception of the summer.

 

• Fort Erie – held at Garrison Place
• Grimsby – held at Grimsby Seniors Centre
• Niagara Falls – held at Eventide Home
• Welland – held at Rapelje Lodge
• St. Catharines – held at the Alzheimer Society of Niagara Region

Education And Public Awareness
We provide continuous opportunities for education and awareness raising within the Niagara Region, and upon special request outside the region. Our Public Education Coordinator is available to design programs to suit individual group needs and is certified to coach in GPA, U-First, Montessori Based Dementia Programming and Compassion Fatigue.  All education is free to persons with dementia, caregivers and families.  However, there may be an operational fee associated with industry capacity building, as aligned with recommendations by the Alzheimer Society of Ontario.

 Included in our Education program:

• Information packages

• Education for individuals and families

• Presentations, info sessions and workshops

• In-service training for health care professionals and volunteers

• Public education

• Virtual Dementia Tour

• Caregiver Education Series

Shared Reflections
Our shared reflections program provides an opportunity for individuals who are beyond the early stages of dementia, but still able to participate in small group settings, to benefit from reminiscence, socialization and meaningful activity. Space is provided for caregivers to socialize while their loved one is participating in this group. 

Virtual Dementia Tour^©
The Virtual Dementia Tour is a key part of our education services. It is a learning experience that has the participants completing assigned tasks while being physically and sensory impaired. During the activity they experience memory loss, breakdown of communication, recognition problems, and perceptual losses. A de-briefing session is then provided. This session has to be specifically planned based on the location and number of participants.

Psychogeriatric Resource Consultants (PRC's)
Psychogeriatric Resource Consultants (PRC’s) provide education, training and consultative support to staff of long term care homes, CCAC's and community agencies.  Working in partnership with the St. Joseph's Niagara Geriatric Mental Health Outreach Team, PRC’s act as advisors, educators, facilitators and network builders. They assist staff in managing complex behaviours, with a specific focus on long term care and transition.