Every third Tuesday at the Cochrane Legion, a community event is held with one goal in mind: to give those with dementia and their caregivers a safe, supportive place to connect with others living with the same circumstances.
The Memory Café is a space for open, candid conversations about what it’s like to live with the condition which causes a loss of cognitive functioning, and to help care for those that have it, explained Alan Rae, a resident of Bearspaw who helped form Dementia Network Calgary.
It’s also somewhere they can all meet and simply talk about the weather, if it pleases them.
“It’s a comfortable environment where we can share ideas, share stories and just be supportive toward one another,” said Rae. “It’s sort of like an informal social support group.”
Rae’s wife, Joan Connor, was diagnosed with dementia over 10 years ago. The two of them first stumbled across the concept of a Conversation Café – a similarly aimed event – while travelling through California in 2017.
They ended up attending several of the events while in the U.S. and enjoyed the experience so much that they brought the idea back home with them.
Not long after their return, the husband and wife helped launch Dementia Network Calgary, a collaborative effort among local individuals and organizations including the Alzheimer’s Society of Calgary, Alberta Health Services, the City of Calgary, United Way of Calgary and Area, and Mount Royal University.
“We knew there was a need for something like this in our area,” said Rae. “Dementia is real and it can be very difficult to live with.
“The people that are dealing with it are real people and they need to have socialization and communication.”
That includes the people who offer care for the person with the condition, added Rae, especially after coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s an X amount of people in Cochrane who may be struggling with the notion that they can’t get out of their house to socialize with others because they’re too busy caring for that person with dementia,” he said. “But it’s important for us to communicate to that person there this is a place you can go and be social.”
He believes the event also serves to destigmatize any false notions that some might have regarding dementia.
“We’re letting people know that, while yes, this is a disease – no, it is not contagious. We’re letting people know that the people with this disease are still human beings that can still live a decent life,” said Rae.
Each month, Dementia Network Calgary hosts about a dozen Memory Cafés throughout the Calgary region, including events in Cochrane and Okotoks.
The Cochrane event is a local partnership between the Calgary organization, Cochrane Family and Community Support Services' Dementia and Other Therapies/Services Committee, and AHS.
Rae said he and Connor make a point of attending as many events throughout the region as they can, but considers the Cochrane Legion to be their home base.
“The conversations we have there can be quite interesting and often quite personal, but what it does is it gives everybody the opportunity to say ‘Hey, my journey isn’t so bad, my situation isn’t so unique, this is happening to other people too,’” said Rae.
“The important side of it is being able to share and then from that, understand that we’re not alone.”
The next Memory Café at the Cochrane Legion will be on July 19. The event is hosted from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. Anyone living with dementia, whether with a diagnosis or in a caregiving role, is welcome and encouraged to attend.
