Everyone wants to belong — children, adults, the elderly and even those with memory loss, brain injuries or disabilities.
Shepherd's Place, a nonprofit organization that meets four times a week at Fairhope United Methodist Church, seeks to …
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Everyone wants to belong — children, adults, the elderly and even those with memory loss, brain injuries or disabilities.
Shepherd's Place, a nonprofit organization that meets four times a week at Fairhope United Methodist Church, seeks to provide a safe, accepting community to people with memory or physical needs.
“Just like children like to be around their peers, older people do too,” says Amanda Manders, who cares for her mother, Elizabeth, and her husband, Billy, who is experiencing the early stages of dementia. “It has filled that void of loneliness and boredom that a family can't. Family can only do so much.”
Personal beginnings
Shepherd's Place started with an idea to help caregivers who were transitioning their loved ones from independent living to restricted care.
Ann Pearson, director of Caring Ministries at Fairhope United Methodist, had the idea while she was caring for her mother, who struggled with dementia for seven years. She knew caregivers needed time to care for themselves, and she wanted to give people in Baldwin County that opportunity.
Shepherd's Place director Leisa Richardson also cares for her parents and is a registered nurse. Pearson says she knows from experience caregivers are more comfortable leaving their loved ones with someone who has medical knowledge as well as a passion for helping others.
“When I was caring for my mom, I was always worried about keeping her safe,” Pearson says. “My heart is for those caregivers.”
Big happy family
When Debby Brown started bringing her mother, Dot, to Shepherd's Place two months ago, Dot, who has dementia, was not talking much and seemed depressed.
“It was like a miracle when I started taking her there,” Brown says. “She gets to socialize. At first, she would sleep through playing cards, and now she's alert, and she actually plays. Leisa told me the other day she won two games on her own. And the painting is so good for her.”
Volunteers with different skills and passions visit Shepherd's Place to provide the participants with activities and entertainment. Some days they get an art lesson, and sometimes a band gives a concert. There are knot-tying demonstrations, card games and dancing.
Brown says the activities give her mother stimulation she could never provide for her alone.
“It has changed her life,” she says. “When she comes home from Shepherd's Place, and even during the week when she doesn't go, she's talking more to me. She gets stimulated and she's just more verbal with me now — I just can't believe it. It's been such a blessing.”
Richardson says the caregivers and participants aren't the only ones being blessed by the program. She feels like she has gained new family members and is overjoyed to be able to improve their quality of life.
“These people become like family,” says Richardson, who knows all 10 to 15 participants' life stories and quirks. She, Pearson and the volunteers commit to loving them unconditionally on their good days and bad days.
“We're not going to make them well,” she says, “but we just want to improve their lives at the moment. To see them happy and having so much fun — it is really rewarding.”
Do you have a loved one who might benefit from visiting Shepherd's Place? This nonprofit program serves individuals with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, Parkinson's disease, stroke and traumatic brain injury. Contact Director Leisa Richardson at 251-928-1148 or shepherdsplace@fairhopeumc.org for more information.
Program profile
