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16 <br />Center, a Parkinson's Support Group in Central Orange Senior Center, three supports groups <br />for Caregivers of people with dementia, and a weekly group for individuals with mild dementia. <br />3. Dementia Outreach: Apart-time coordinator of African American caregiver outreach <br />conducted research of the literature and met with many minority community leaders to prepare <br />culturally sensitive presentations for use in minority communities. Over 25 formal <br />presentations in 2007-08 were delivered in minority churches, to increase awareness of <br />dementia symptoms and management. <br />4. Caregiver Class/Workshops: "The Powerful Tools for Caregivers" class was presented in <br />early 2008 and will be replicated in fall 2008. The workshops are a joint endeavor between the <br />NC Cooperative Extension Service and the Department on Aging. Three new community <br />workshops were designed and implemented in 2008 for family caregivers by the Department <br />on Aging's Transitions/Eldercare Division. <br />Activities and Accomplishments: 2008-09 <br />1. Support group attendance continues to grow in all three groups. The Seymour Center Groups <br />routinely run 15-25 members each month. <br />2. The number of caregiver counseling sessions each month range from 29-85 with a monthly <br />average of 62. <br />2. Aging Transitions staff collaborated with UNC physician staff, the Alzheimer's Association, <br />Jewish Family Services, UNC Social of Social Work, and Orange County family caregiver <br />spokespersons to present four evening classes on dementia at the Seymour Center. Three of the <br />four presentations reached audiences of 100+ individuals. Surveys indicated 94% of participants <br />reported that the classes increased their understanding of dementia. <br />3. The dementia outreach coordinator to African Americans has presented classes in 17 <br />churches and has provided instruction for 306 individuals in giving good dementia care. These <br />are follow-up classes to the first sessions which focused on recognizing dementias. <br />4. The group respite program at the Seymour Center serves 10 seniors with physical and/or <br />cognitive disabilities, with programming and socialization for 5 hours one day per week. The <br />personnel cost for this program is $3.90 per client per hour. 100% of caregivers have reported <br />satisfaction with this group respite program. <br />5. Two churches, First Baptist and St. Paul's in Chapel Hill have meet with the dementia outreach <br />coordinator to discuss recreating group respite at their churches. Thus far, neither church has <br />agreed to pilot a similar program. <br />6. Twenty African American church leaders have committed to attending the Alzheimer's <br />Conference at Duke in February 2010 to deepen their knowledge base to become lay leaders in <br />their church communities. <br />7. A regular aging column in the News of Orange did not materialize due to conflicting time <br />commitments on staff. <br />Recommendations for 2010: <br />1. Continue programs, based on attendance and responses from participants. <br />2. Develop a group of 20 African Americans going to the Duke Alzheimer's conference with the <br />goals of creating dementia volunteers in multiple churches. <br />Objective F-2: Offer best practices in mental health care for older persons in <br />affordable, stigma-free, non-psychiatric settings. <br />Lead Organization(s): Department on Aging- Aging Transitions Div. with UNC <br />Geropsychiatry, OPC Mental Health and Faith Communities <br />14 <br />