Apoyos Para Los Cuidadores

Chesed Project at Taos Jewish Center

Taos, NM

https://www.taosjewishcenter.org/

Non denominational project of the Taos Jewish Center, in collaboration with other local community based agencies, offers outreach, education, therapeutic and social activities to older adults from the rural, diverse communities of Taos Pueblo and neighboring villages.

Apoyos Para Los Cuidadores (Support for the Caregivers) offers support services to family caregivers of older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Participants of this program are residents of Taos County and neighboring villages including Taos Pueblo and come from rural, low income and diverse communities (predominately Latino: 58% of Taos residents are Hispanic or Latino). Apoyos provides the only caregiver support services available in this rural low-income area.

Specifically, Apoyos Para Los Cuidadores supports family caregivers by offering the following services:

• Caregiver Education and Support Groups: Psycho/educational meetings offer peer support and education on topics such as Communication and Difficult Behaviors and Dealing with Stress Caregiver Wellness.
• ArtStreams: An interactive art discussion that takes place at local museums and galleries provides caregivers with social interaction, group support, mental stimulation and respite. Other activities include yoga, exercise, Reiki and Scrabble.
• Caregiver Resource and Referrals Center: Provides caregivers with guidance, information, and referrals. Caregivers have access to telephone consultations and a caregiver’s resource library which includes books, DVD’s and printed materials on a variety of subjects.

Comments: Apoyos Para los Cuidadores is highly replicable program and bridges the worlds of serving ethnically diverse and rural seniors, serving low-income Native American, Latino and Anglo persons affected by Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers. The program is based in a Jewish center and serves all ethnic communities.