Caring for Caregivers: The Art of Aging Well

Certainly, there are challenges to aging and to caring for older loved ones. But there are also benefits and joys to be found in staying active, finding companionship and knowing where to turn for resources.

Just ask the thousands of people who regularly visit senior centers throughout Southeast Michigan or the caregivers who find respite while their loved ones are enjoying themselves in pleasant and productive ways they probably can’t at home.

Detroit PBS is partnering with St. Patrick Senior Center in Detroit for an evening of free, public activities focusing on the needs of older adults and their caregivers. At 6 p.m., the doors of St. Pat will open for a celebration of caregiving, which will include a preview of the PBS documentary “Caregiving” film, produced by famed actor Bradley Cooper, who tells his own personal story of caring for his elderly father as he struggled with cancer.

It is one of the many evocative family dramas highlighted in the film, intertwined with the history of how the nation has met the challenge of supporting caregivers over the years and more often how it has not.

The preview will be followed by a panel discussion by local leaders in caring for our older adults, who will engage in a constructive conversation, also answering audience questions.

PANELISTS

• SaTrice Coleman-Betts - Executive Director, St. Patrick Senior Center
• Ronald Taylor - President and CEO, Detroit Area Agency on Aging
• Kristie King - Executive Director, Southeast Michigan Senior Regional Collaborative
• Trudy Gallant-Stokes - Reporter, Producer and Writer
• Terry Plowden - Leader of the St. Pat Belly Dancers

OTHER FEATURES

As a major treat, Terry will lead her troupe through a live belly dance performance.

At the same time, key agencies and nonprofit organizations will have tables set up, displaying the services they provide for caregivers and older adults in our community.

ST. PATRICK SENIOR CENTER

Under the leadership of SaTrice Coleman-Betts, St. Patrick is the city’s largest health, wellness and activities center for people over 55. Now in its 51st year, its three floors bustle with activities as it provides services to more than 3,000 individuals, including nutritious meals, dozens of health and wellness programs, an on-site clinic, transportation to medical appointments, technology training, dance and exercise classes, benefits assistance, in-home services, respite care, home delivery of groceries and other necessities, and much more. And there are always new options to choose from, like “Ageless Innovations,” which provides training opportunities for people over 55 who’d like to become entrepreneurs or community health workers.

The St. Patrick Senior Center is located at 58 Parsons Street, in Midtown Detroit.

CAREGIVING AND DETROIT PBS

Caring for Caregivers: The Art of Aging Well is a signature event in Detroit’s yearlong initiative on Caregiving, made possible by grants from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation and WETA (the PBS presenting station for the “Caregiving” documentary).

STRIDES FOR SENIORS

The event is also part of the annual Strides for Seniors, a monthlong campaign celebrating neighborhood senior centers, which served as “homes away from home’ for thousands of Detroiters, presented by the Detroit Area Agency on Aging, Detroit Parks & Recreation and St. Patrick.

Host or Publisher Detroit Public TV