On Friday, two local MPPs and a volunteer from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) joined Acclaim Health community members to participate in a virtual program showcase. This event highlighted the work being done by Acclaim Health to help reduce social isolation for people living with dementia.
It was an opportunity to learn how a $75,000 Seed grant awarded by OTF in 2020 has made a difference and offer congratulations on receiving a new, $12,500 Resilient Communities Fund grant. This grant has helped buy equipment and offer technical training for staff to continue providing virtual support for people living with dementia.
Acclaim Health representatives spoke to MPP Jane McKenna, MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos, and Dianne Lawson, the Chair of OTF’s Halton-Peel Grant Review Team, about how the two grants enabled them to pivot their resources online throughout the pandemic.
Music accesses different parts of the brain than language and can reach a person living with dementia, regardless of the stage, helping to connect with others around them. The OTF Seed grant enabled the organization to launch a ‘creating connection through music’ project. With the help of music therapist, Ryan Vermeer, Acclaim Health has expanded its virtual music programs for clients.
The event programing was curated by Acclaim Health day program staff and music therapist. The music therapy program provides a virtual live radio hour every Monday night. Other support for those living with dementia takes place daily with engaging and enriching virtual events and programming. Additional online activities are available to those receiving aid from Acclaim Health 24/7 on their website.
People living with dementia and their caregivers are at higher risk of becoming socially isolated. As the disease progresses, it becomes difficult to take part in social events and maintain friendships. Due to COVID-19, a pivot to using a virtual platform was needed to reduce social isolation, and that’s where OTF’s Resilient Community Fund grant will be able to help.
