Sarah Pfeiffer is a UW Memory and Brain Wellness Center social work practicum student, focused on community-centered practice. Working on-site at the Memory Hub, Sarah facilitates a caregiver support group and helps organize a variety of special events for people living with memory loss.
"The Memory Hub is giving me an awareness of what it's like to work with the dementia population and what resources people need," she says. "I'm learning how each person's experience is unique and how much people value opportunities to share what they are going through. My favorite part is getting to listen to peoples' stories."
Sarah's previous social work practicum experience happened through the Bellevue Fire Department CARES, which stands for Community Advocates for Referral and Education Services. CARES connects people in crisis with help without using 911 calls. In her time there, Sarah focused on fall prevention in the older adult population. "I noticed that older adults were often not being connected to resources and caregiver help," she said. "It was hard to see the social isolation."
Recently, she helped offer the very first Bridges Bistro, a unique dining experience in which the servers are individuals living with memory loss and dementia. Hosted at the Bistro at Murano Senior Living, the Memory Hub invited a group of neighbors and supporters to help test it out this model and offer feedback. "This kind of event opens eyes to what the world can look like for people living with dementia when they are given opportunities," she says.
Currently, Sarah is working on a program called You and Me, an opportunity for individuals living with dementia to build meaningful connection with younger generations. Upcoming 'You and Me' events are scheduled for Tuesdays at 12pm - 1pm, starting February 25. Learn more.
Sarah appreciates that the Memory Hub offers space and strengths-based opportunities for people with dementia and caregivers. "The Memory Hub is focused on what people living with dementia are capable of," she says. "Dementia is often a big piece of who a person is—here, we get to highlight other aspects of who they are. •
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