MANKATO — A new Act on Alzheimer’s program uses the power of storytelling to engage people with dementia and their loved ones.
The group will launch the TimeSlips program Saturday at Carnegie Art Center, followed by twice monthly sessions in Mankato. It will complement Mankato & North Mankato Act on Alzheimer’s Singing Hills Chorus and Rhythmic Times programs.
In TimeSlips, facilitators use prompts to lead groups through open-ended storytelling sessions.
Creativity flows, said facilitator Doug Lamoureux, with no wrong way for the stories to unfold.
“It’s not about going back in the past and remembering stories,” he said. “It’s about using your imagination on what you see in front of you and creating a story together.”
Thinking on the fly, rather than recalling stories from the past, is the point. The setup seeks to avoid frustrations brought on by memory loss.
“When there’s reminiscing it’s good, and you don’t want to get in the way of it,” Lamoureux said. “However with memory issues there can be frustration, shame and sadness.”
Dementia can take what were once fond memories away from people. TimeSlips keeps the focus off of memory loss, said Sandi Lubrant, ACT on Alzheimer’s coordinator.
“It’s creating an environment that’s very welcoming and really moves away from that stigma of the disease and all the focus on loss and change,” she said.
Facilitators have led TimeSlips sessions at local assisted living and long-term care facilities. Lamoureux, a board member for Act on Alzheimer’s, also practiced with his mother.
Her Alzheimer’s diagnosis inspired him to get involved with the Mankato & North Mankato group. Once they added TimeSlips, he immediately knew he wanted to facilitate sessions.
“I believe in the power of storytelling and imagination to help reignite some things in the brain,” he said.
He saw his mother get in the spirit of the activity during their practice. With the senior living groups he noticed a glow among participants as they came up with ideas, then good-natured laughter at his attempts to thread it all together.
Saturday’s event from 10 a.m.-noon is a drop-in style introduction of the program. Story themes include St. Patrick’s Day and spring blooming.
Supported by funding through the Minnesota State Arts Board, the program will continue through the rest of 2024, Lubrant said. The sessions will be at the Carnegie Art Center, 120 S. Broad St., or Shared Spaces at Emy Frentz, 523 S. Second St., although an April 25 event is slated for the St. Peter Community Center.
“This is going to be the first of many,” Lamoureux said of the kickoff Saturday. “We’re excited to launch it, but there will be more.”