26 | MARCH 14 • 2024
J
N
M
etro Detroit
caregivers who
look after loved
ones living with dementia
can experience a special
day devoted to their own
enjoyment and well-being on
Sunday, April 7.
The event is free and
is being offered by the
Dorothy and Peter Brown
Jewish Community Adult
Day Program, known as the
Brown Program, with respite
care being offered at its West
Bloomfield location (6720 W.
Maple Road, West Bloomfield)
and the program for caregivers
being held at the nearby Soul
Café (5586 Drake Road, West
Bloomfield).
Before the day’s activities
begin, caregivers will drop off
their loved ones at the Brown
Center at 10 a.m. where
they will be taken care of by
expert staff, given snacks and
lunch, and experience special
programming including
music, games and more.
Caregivers will then go
to Soul Café to enjoy yoga,
massage, music therapy,
horticultural therapy
and delicious food, plus
educational activities designed
to help them take care of their
loved ones. The program will
end at 3 p.m. with respite care
provided until 3:30 p.m.
The Brown Program is
a joint initiative of Gesher
Human Services and Jewish
Senior Life and provides
innovative and engaging
activities and care for those
living with dementia, along
with support for their
families at its centers in West
Bloomfield and Southfield.
For Beth Sadoff of Farming-
ton Hills, Caregivers Day Off
is a welcome event where she
knows her husband will be
taken care of while she has
a chance to decompress and
enjoy the experiences offered.
Ed Sadoff, 77, was
diagnosed with dementia
about eight years ago
and currently attends the
Brown Program five days a
week, enabling his wife to
continue working as a service
coordinator for a senior
community.
“I joke with Ed that I’m
going to work, and he is going
to work, too, because he is
going to the center, which is
helping him do everything we
can to prevent him declining,”
Sadoff explained.
Sadoff, who has two grown
sons and four grandchildren
and belongs to Temple Israel,
says it is often hard to find
time for herself, though
she knows it is important.
Caregivers Day Off, however,
gives her a unique opportunity
to enjoy herself while she
knows her husband is having
the expert care he needs.
“It really is a fabulous day
I look forward to. When you
get there, you have coffee and
donuts or a bagel and there are
all kinds of activities to enjoy,
like massage and art therapy,
even planting flowers,” she
says. “
And it’s a way to get
together with other caregivers
going through something
similar. We can express our
thoughts, our frustrations
and even tell each other about
things that might work to help
us.”
Debi Banooni, the director
of the Brown Program,
says Sadoff’s experience at
Caregivers Day Off
On April 7, the Brown Program
will offer a day of respite and joy.
ALISON SCHWARTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
OUR COMMUNITY
Massage
therapy
Horticultural
therapy