Hao Djur

I have enjoyed volunteering at Aldersgate Assisted Living center so far. I have been there

over three times, and each time I am a new visitor to the residents. Since I chose to volunteer at

the facility’s memory care unit, most of the residents are not cognitive. There are a few who are

able to remember things, but most of the residents are unable to remember because of they are

living with dementia.

Some of the conversations I had with residents who have Alzheimer’s were challenging

and forced me to be patient.

There were many where a resident would ask a question repeatedly because they forgot

that they had asked the question just a minute ago. It was difficult having to constantly answer

the same question over and over again. And most of my conversations with the residents lasted

longer than two hours.

The workers at Aldersgate have built the ability to be extremely patient with the

residents. The nurses, especially are wonderful towards them because they are taking care of the

patients since their families cannot.

The last time I was at the facility, most of the residents I saw were female, but when we

had a bingo game set up, there were many males that joined. It was different seeing a more

diverse group of residents because the males were more talking than the female residents.

The workers at Aldersgate are always so happy to see volunteers because not many

people want to spend their free time talking to residents with dementia. I think the elderly who

are going through dementia have been neglected in way because they do not get many visitors.

I realized that having someone to talk to can make someone’s day even if that individual

will not be able to remember the conversation. The residents who were cognitive were pleased

that they had young adults visiting and coming to spend time with them.

More teenagers should utilize their spare time to talk to the elderly especially ones who

are retired because they always have so many stories to share.