OSCC to expand Let’s Connect

Dave Flaherty/The Oshawa Express

The Oshawa Senior Citizens Centre (OSCC) will receive nearly $366,000 over the next three years to expand a program that aids people with dementia and cognitive impairments through technology.

The funding comes in the form of a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) towards OSCC’s Let’s Connect Program.

“We are really excited to be able to get some funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation,” says Teresa Shearer, OSCC staff lead for the Let’s Connect Program.

The program teaches people with dementia and other cognitive impairments how to use tablets with the aim of improving memory functions.

Let’s Connect ran as a six-month pilot project in 2016, also funded by an $8,000 OTF grant.

The lead partner for the program is the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.

Shearer said the Dr. Arlene Astell, regional manager of dementia management for Ontario Shores, originally approached OSCC with the foundation for the Let’s Connect Program.

Twenty-one seniors and one caregiver participated in the pilot project and it was “very successful”, according to Shearer.

“Many of the seniors have never even used a computer before, so we get them comfortable using the tablet. It’s easier for them not to use a mouse and keyboard – so everything is on a touch screen,” Shearer says. “We have a variety of games and apps that have been tested already in Europe for people with dementia.”

Schearer said the apps can be adjusted to a each individual’s specific abilities.

“The main focus is [for them to have] something to engage and socialize with their families through and also…if their caregiver needs a break, they can set them up with very little support,” Shearer said.

Shearer said such a program can also challenge stereotypes about people with dementia.

“It’s so important that people realize that though someone may have dementia, cognitive impairment or memory loss, they still can learn,” Schearer said. “If you do [repetitive tasks] and have it at a level that meets their abilities, they definitely can play and learn and retain. They can even increase as they improve.”

With the new funding, OSCC will be able to expand Let’s Connect over the next three years, says Shearer

This year, OSCC will include the program at all four of its day care locations, which Shearer said will allow them to quadruple the amount of participants.

In 2018, the program will be extended further into the community at large, through partnerships with organizations such as the Alzheimer Society of Durham Region, Community Care Durham and the Oshawa Public Library.

The OTF grant will be used to create a ‘professional’ training package that OSCC will supply to partnering organizations and as well as hiring staff to meet new programming needs.

In the third year of funding, it is planned to take the program beyond the boundaries of Durham Region.

Councillor Bob Chapman commended the Let’s Connect program and OSCC staff on their work on the grant application, noting it is not an easy task.

“It always great to see the work being done here,” Chapman says. “There is more than just keeping our physical bodies active in order to enjoy our mature aging.”

Oshawa MPP Jennifer French said the Let’s Connect program has a personal connection for her.

French says she recently purchased a tablet for her 96-year-old grandmother and has seen what it has done for her.

“She is so impressed and amazed by it, and she recently said to me ‘I never thought I’d have something like this’ and I thought ‘My goodness why did we wait so long'”,” French says.  “It’s not just keeping her company when she can’t sleep, it’s just opening so many ideas for her. I can only imagine the magic this program is unlocking in our community.”

For more information on OSCC and the Let’s Connect Program, visit ossc.ca.