DECEMBER 2019
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Sharing the Java Music Experience
A volunteer shares her experience with the Java Music Club  
These comments are just a few observations and reflections about my past experience helping out as a volunteer, at the weekly Java Music Group.

The small dinning room on the main floor is the perfect place to offer a private environment, where the residents gather. Volunteers circulate and offer a hot or cold beverage and to serve the individual portions of fresh fruits or cookies etc.

A guest of honour is usually chosen. It may be because it is their birthday or to welcome a resident who has recently moved in to help them feel special in their new environment.

As time goes on we see how quiet residents start feeling more and more comfortable to speak up and express an opinion about the chosen theme for the day.

It is an excellent opportunity for residents to make new friends, and to learn from each other. Those who have been there longer can explain how it felt when they first arrived and how things have improved with the passing of time.
The music that goes with the theme helps to keep things happy and positive as much as possible.

I love how deep and personal the conversations can get at times. The memories from the past come flooding out, whether happy or sad.

The facilitators gently remind the guests that everything shared is confidential and must remain in that room and not be shared with others.

All in all, the Java Music Club is a success in my opinion. It gets the residents out of their rooms and provides a safe place for them to share their deepest thoughts and receive encouragement, congratulations or whatever is appropriate in the various circumstances.

- Volunteer at Saint-Louis Residence (Bruyère) in Ottawa, ON
“I used to feel alone, but now it’s like I have another family. I don’t feel so alone anymore.”
- Resident and Java Music Club participant.
Presenting Power of the Pause:
RPO Conference Presentation

Kristine and Michelle attended the 2019 Recreation Professional of Ontario conference took place place October 16 - 18, 2019 in Toronto – as always it was a pleasure interacting with recreation professionals from across Ontario!

If you are interested, check out a PDF of the slides from the ' Power of Pause: The Therapeutic Use of Silence'.

Learn three ways silence benefits our brain health, and some practical strategies to incorporate the use of therapeutic silence within recreation practice.
“The longer we meet with one another, the more trusting I become. We are able to open up and respect each other’s privacy."
- Resident and Java Music Club participant.
New Training Video
Supporting your Client's Emotional Well-Being

Inspired by the Ontario CLRI's Power of Peer Support webinar series, Java Group Programs and Brookdale Senior Living have come together to create a new training video. In this video called 'Supporting Your Client's Emotional Well-Being", Dr. Kristine Theurer speaks with Brookdale's Carol Cummings about how to provide emotional support for seniors.

Click the video below to open the link.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN LTC
The Ontario CLRI delivered a two-part webinar series called 'Supporting the Rainbow Community in Long-Term Care.

This webinar series explored various ways of supporting the LGBTQI2S* community in Ontario's long-term care homes by using stories, experiences and best practices. The webinars were recorded and can be watched at anytime on the Ontario CLRI website. Click the links below to watch the webinars and read their related resources.
LGBTQI2S* stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex and two-spirit.
No acronym in full can speak to wide ranging experiences of attraction or gender.
SHARING THE NEWS
Thank you for sharing this newsletter broadly with residents, families, and colleagues in your home. Please contact us if you would like to receive a printed copy for your bulletin board.
Would you like to have your home featured in this newsletter? Please submit stories, quotations, photos or videos to Michelle Fleming at  mfleming@bruyere.org  
STAY CONNECTED WITH THE ONTARIO CLRI
This newsletter is part of the project:  The Power of Peer Support: Reducing Social Isolation in Residential Care , a knowledge mobilization partnership initiative between Ontario Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care (CLRI) at Bruyère, Java Group Programs, Carleton University’s Department of Health Sciences and Bruyère Continuing Care’s Therapeutic Support Services. It is funded by the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI), Carleton University and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario CLRI.