As of: February 19, 2024, 9:00 p.m
By: Wolfgang Schörner
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Walk in to the new care group for people with dementia: (from left) Katharina Klora, head of the specialist center for caring relatives at the Pfaffenwinkel-Werdenfels Alzheimer's Society, volunteer helper Ingrid Stockhammer and Barbara Gerstl-Scherl, head of the care group.
Plans for family meetings © wos
There has been a care group for people with dementia in Penzberg since January.
Since then, two meetings have taken place at the Treff Casa on Bahnhofstrasse.
The circle is still very small, but there would be room for up to eight guests each.
The main goal is to relieve the burden on the caring relatives for a few hours.
Penzberg
– Two older men are sitting at the table in the Casa on a Wednesday in February.
You have dementia.
There is coffee and cake.
The social worker Barbara Gerstl-Scherl, head of the care group, reads the fairy tale “Snow White”.
When the words “Mirror, mirror on the wall” are heard, everyone joins in.
Ingrid Stockhammer is also sitting at the table as a volunteer.
Later they cut out hearts from red cardboard and attach them to strings for hanging.
It's Valentine's Day.
The care group for people with dementia in Penzberg is still brand new and is still quite small.
It was brought into being by the Pfaffenwinkel-Werdenfels Alzheimer Society, which has four such groups in Weilheim.
The company has been offering advice for relatives in Penzberg since November.
Urgently needed relief for a few hours
The main goal of the care group is that the relatives “have time for themselves and can hand over responsibility,” says Katharina Klora, head of the specialist office for caring relatives at the Alzheimer’s Society.
She explains that 70 percent of people with dementia are cared for by their healthy partners.
This can be very stressful if the healthy partner has to take on more and more responsibility as dementia progresses.
The care group should therefore offer relief for a few hours.
On the other hand, Katharina Klora has found that relatives often say that such a care group is not for the partner, father or mother with dementia.
Fears play a role here.
In fact, people with dementia become more and more withdrawn, they become disoriented, are afraid in unfamiliar surroundings and feel safest at home.
Katharina Klora only recently experienced skepticism from a relative.
They tried anyway, the dementia patient attended the group “and he enjoyed it,” she says.
2,700 people with dementia live in the district
Katharina Klora hopes that more people will take advantage of the offer in Penzberg in the future.
There is a need, she believes.
After all, 2,700 people live with dementia in the district.
This is probably because the offer is not yet well known.
It only became possible because the Alzheimer's Society found Barbara Gerstl-Scherl, a specialist, to lead the group, and volunteers came forward who completed training as everyday companions. In Penzberg there are now five volunteers who take turns.
Social worker Barbara Gerstl-Scherl has always worked in the social sector, whether in family support, in kindergarten and in the preschool sector.
“Now that I’m retired, I wanted a new challenge,” she says.
And: “It’s fun.” Much more is possible with guests suffering from dementia than you think.
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“We give to our guests, but they also give something back to us”
One of the volunteers is Ingrid Stockhammer.
When the businesswoman retired, she wanted to take on volunteer work, primarily with older people.
That's how she came to the care group for people with dementia.
“It’s great fun,” she says.
“We give to our guests, but they also give something back to us.
We laugh together, and if they are happy, we are too.” What she particularly appreciates: Dementia sufferers are honest, they won't lie to you and play you off against each other.
The group program is designed flexibly according to what the guests can still do, explains Katharina Klora.
People talk to each other and tell stories, complete old proverbs during memory training, which increases self-esteem, and they do crafts and paint. There are also coordination exercises.
The most important thing is singing, she says.
This arouses emotions.
Most people would be able to read the lyrics of old folk songs.
This is because long-term memory is still functioning while people no longer remember the last week or day.
In addition to the care group for people with dementia, there will also be meetings for relatives in Penzberg in the future.
Social worker Katharina Klora will lead it.
The launch is scheduled for March 27th.
The relatives, she says, should be able to exchange ideas there, give each other tips and have the feeling that they are not alone.
“It relieves the soul.”