MAY 21 • 2020 | 9
Jews in the D
Keeping Seniors
Connected
JVS, Jewish Senior Life continue work
with dementia patients over Zoom.
P
rior to the spread of
COVID-19 and state-
wide stay–at–home
order, seniors with dementia
in Metro Detroit received
in-person services through
a partnership between JVS
Human Services and Jewish
Senior Life. Those programs
focused on interacting with
others and making face-to-face
connections: crucial components
for high quality of life.
Now, Julie Verriest, manager
of senior adult services at JVS
Human Services and supervisor
of the Dorothy and Peter Brown
Jewish community adult day
program at Jewish Senior Life,
has moved programming online
to continue to give seniors some
stability and therapeutic services.
“Socialization and connection
with other people is really the
most important thing for people
with dementia,
” Verriest said.
In-person services included
hands-on activities like exercise,
pet therapy and community
outings. Online, these programs
have been altered slightly. For
music sessions, Verriest plays the
guitar over Zoom as participants
clap and sing along. Exercise
sessions are also led by Verriest,
with participants providing
input.
People living with dementia
can have visual and auditory
processing issues, which pose
a potential challenge when it
comes to holding sessions virtu-
ally. To help, Verriest makes sure
to leave extra time when talking
to participants, which she says
helps them stay responsive.
“The real magic is they inter-
act with each other much like
they do on-site,
” Verriest said.
“They help each other out,
like someone who is in the earli-
er stage of dementia might help
someone who’
s a little later in the
dementia journey to answer a
question.
”
These online sessions provide
important interactions for par-
ticipants but are also beneficial
for caregiving partners, Verriest
said. Some are working from
home, teaching from home and
now also providing full-time
care for family members. Zoom
sessions provide respite so care-
giving partners can complete
other tasks.
This online program also
provides support services and
sessions specifically for caregiv-
ing partners as the alternative
to in-person support. The pro-
gram’
s social worker now spends
all her time calling families and
checking in to see how they are
doing.
Sam McKnight has been tak-
ing his wife, Jackie, to participate
in services at the Brown Center
for several years now, and the
fact that there are services avail-
able online is helpful to both
of them, McKnight said. Jackie
particularly enjoys the music,
poetry and bingo that have taken
place virtually.
Sam said he’
s been especially
pleased with “the familiarity of
it all and the ability to connect,
even though it’
s a little more dif-
ficult.
”
YAEL EICHHORN JN INTERN
JVS HUMAN SERVICES
Julie Verriest
holding a music session
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STORY
Our
STORY
Our
Kevin Kellman and Marc Kellman spent 20
years in a family business that was doing well, but
wasn’t what they really wanted to do. With Kevin’s love
of cooking, and Marc’s practical, “numbers guy” outlook,
they jumped into Detroit’s burgeoning foodie culture
with Brother Truckers food truck, and found their calling.
Armed with their business experience and lots of
research, Kevin and Marc approached Hebrew
Free Loan’s Marvin I. Danto Small Business
Loan Program for help getting launched.
As their third season approached, Kevin and Marc
had a lot of their calendar for lunches and events
booked early, and looked forward to increasing
their business even more.
“We exceeded expectations in our first two seasons,
and we thought this would be the year it really took off,”
Kevin said. “Then the quarantine hit, and the outlook
went from bright to bleak.”
As the truck sat, people who knew the Kellmans asked if
Brother Truckers could come out like an ice cream truck
and do meals. From that, the Subdivision Tour was born.
“We don’t cruise, we park in one neighborhood, and
people come to us. We go to HOAs for permission and
to spread the word among the neighbors, and we feed
lots of families who are tired of cooking, or maybe
looking for a change from their carry-out options,” Kevin
said. “It also gives some of the neighbors a chance to
come out of their homes and socialize at a distance
while we cook. Everything is safe and minimal contact,
and the response has been tremendous. This might
actually become part of our business. We appreciate
our customers and the welcome we received in the
neighborhoods. We also appreciate HFL, because
without them, our story would look a whole lot different.”