Seniors with Chicago Hyde Park Village highlight dementia-friendly space
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A senior-citizen advocacy group aims to build "creative aging" in Hyde Park.
The group is called Chicago Hyde Park Village.
CBS 2's Shardaa Gray shows us how they socialize and fight early memory loss.
From workout routines to vocal exercises, Chicago Hyde Park Village works to create an age-friendly, inclusive, and caring community.
The senior-citizen advocacy group seeks to make the neighborhood an ever kinder and gentler place for seniors while enabling the generations to mingle for the benefit of all.
"The primary purpose is for neighbors to help other neighbors. And enable elderly folks to stay in their home as long as possible," said Chicago Hyde Park Village president Inagrace Dietterich.
The conversation to form the group started 12 years ago in Susan Alitto's living room.
"It's been going a long way since then. We had a lot of input from neighbors," Alitto said.
Wednesday, they had their monthly "drop-in," where senior Hyde Parkers socialize and sing along with Sounds Good Choir inside Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park.
"I'm so glad to be part of Sounds Good Choir and to be a part of the Hyde Park Village," said member Contessa Miller.
Although this is a monthly activity, Contessa Miller said they do much more.
"They do so many things. They provide rides around the Hyde Park area," Miller said.
One of the village's front-burner projects is developing Hyde Park as an officially dementia-friendly neighborhood.
"We just love to say that a dementia-friendly space is just a friendly space," said Hyde Park Village executive director Lucas Livingston
Sounds Good Choir founder Jonathan Miller said he offers another group, called Good Memories Choir, to help combat early memory loss.
"What we see is that about 30 to 45 minutes into the rehearsal, the cognitive function of people with memory loss starts to turn on and switch on, and in a sense, the brain wakes up," Miller said.
A simple thing such as singing can be so impactful for others.
Hyde Park Village is now developing a training course for restaurants and retail establishments. Once staff have completed the course, businesses can qualify for certification as dementia-friendly.
