What is the Prairie Elder Community Connections Project?

• Prairie Elder Care has been leaders in dementia care since 2014. Through our group homes, Day Program, Care Farm and community involvement we have started to change the way people look at brain change. This has been the passion of sister-in-laws Michala Gibson and Mandy Shoemaker since the beginning but has taken a new meaning when Michala's husband (Mandy's brother) was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease in 2023. Dementia is a progressive disease and over time, the person living with dementia will need hands on care but in the beginning, the biggest need is for meaningful engagement and a sense of purpose. 
  
• Dementia affects the entire family, not only the person living with the disease and along with the legal, financial, and emotional pieces of dealing with a diagnosis, there is also the need for purposeful activities for the person living with the disease and a need for respite for the caregiver.
  
• The Prairie Elder Care Farm has been around since 2018 and consists of farm animals (goats, pigs, chickens, and a babydoll sheep!) and our large community garden. It has provided our residents and families as well as so many people from the community with ways to connect with people living with dementia.
  
• We have developed a plan to use our care farm to provide opportunities for people with early dementia to work on our farm with a job coach to ensure their safety and success. The goal of it is to provide purpose for the person living with dementia and respite for the caregiver.
• Donations will be used to build an interactive walking path and greenhouse so that there are opportunities for walk year-round.
• The goal will be to create a program that others can replicate in their community. 
• If you have been affected by dementia and want to help us change the way people living with dementia find purpose and caregivers find respite, make a donation or reach out to be a volunteer.