Memory Cafes

Virtual Memory Cafes – What Are They?

I had never heard of Memory Cafes before, and it is interesting to note that I discovered the term in the now "infamous" article about a Youth Services Librarian who created a Harry Potter virtual escape room as a result of COVID-19! I immediately searched the term "memory cafes" online, and found many excellent resources that I want to share!

A Memory Cafe is a welcoming place for individuals in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease or any other form of dementia, other brain disorders, or mild cognitive impairment, and their caregivers. Some are activities-based, while others focus on education. Some offer music and dancing, or crafts and painting. Some simply guide the participants in exercises that foster reminiscing (similar to FCPL’s senior outreach programs). The overall purpose is to allow the participants to interact and participate in a fun, stress-free environment.

With COVID-19, virtual memory cafes are beginning to pop up, or become more popular. I am really excited about virtual memory cafes because people who do not have access to this type of service (particularly for free) and those who are homebound can really benefit from this! The elderly and those with underlying conditions are the highest risk group for COVID-19, and they are the ones who are also the most isolated, which is a cause of concern. These virtual programs would help them connect and be part of something.

Information and Resources:

Memory Cafe Directory – Like it sounds, people can search this website to find memory cafes in their state. With COVID-19 closing many in-person memory cafes, the Memory Café Directory included a feature called Cafe Connect  that provides a list of links to virtual Memory Cafes around the world. There are several to choose from; most of them are free and require registration.  

Alzheimer’s Association Georgia Chapter's website  - I found a few virtual programs there. They require registration and assessment. The website also offers helpful videos, online courses, and other useful resources.

Dementia Mentors - From the website: Dementia Mentors is "an international, online organization comprised of individuals with various forms of dementia. Our goal is to provide supportive mentoring, motivation, social engagement and more for those living with dementia. All of the mentors have some form of dementia. As a result, they are best qualified to council and befriend new participants." 

Patients can speak with a mentor live online. The site has helpful videos and hosts virtual memory cafes for people all over the world to join. I watched a video on the site that offers a virtual memory cafe tour. Actual members talk about what the Memory Cafe has done for them, and its members are from all over the world. It's a place where people with memory disorders can speak freely, share information and experiences, and learn from each other. I was amazed by and very impressed with this program. 

Webinar:

​I also viewed the webinar Memory Cafes and Libraries: The Perfect Fit. This is an excellent webinar detailing how one library system is successfully implementing memory cafes, with best practices based on their experiences. They showed a short video showing what a memory cafe at their library is like. I also learned about The Library Memory Project. The presenter stressed the importance of partnerships for these types of programs, and having an expert on site for programs. I highly recommend this webinar to anyone interested in working with seniors, particularly the memory-impaired.

Music and Memory

Another bit of relevant information I found while doing my research stemmed from a video that Lorraine shared in one of her outreach recaps about the importance of using music with memory impaired patients. It's a snippet of a documentary about the Music & Memory iPod Project, which I checked out further after watching the video clip. The entire documentary can be found on the website. This is a wonderful program

Other Memory Café Resources/Websites:

'Memory Cafes' Help People with Dementia and Their Caregivers – FromHealthline.com

Excellent article with additional links to related articles. Also references the Memory Café Directory website.

Memory Cafe Activities - Caregivers Matter – Caregiversmatter.org

I like this site because it offers several different memory cafe themes and activities for others to use.

Memory & Alzheimer's Cafes – Alzheimersspeaks.com

Contains links to news video and article about memory cafes.

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I hope that staff will find these resources useful, for outreach and other programs, as resources to refer to patrons, and to use for themselves if they or someone they know is caring for a person with memory disorders.    

Written by Jeanne McMahan