March’s Mindful Moments Café will include St. Patrick’s Day BINGO, light conversation, music, and refreshments.

Southwestern Vermont Council On Aging’s Mindful Moments Café is our take on the global Memory Café program, which started in the Netherlands in 1997 by Dr. Bere Meisen. The program started because Dr. Meisen noticed the discussion of Alzheimer’s/Dementia is often taboo or stigmatized, even within the families of those affected by the illness. The original café brought in families from around the country so they could meet and talk openly, without judgement or criticism, and all left being able to report feeling happier than they did going into the event.

The memory cafe program has spread across the UK into Canada and across all 50 states. Memory cafes are welcoming social gatherings for people living with changes in their memory, or thinking, and the people who care about them. A café is a place to have fun together and talk with others who understand what you’re going through.

Mindful Moments is not just a memory café. Our goal is to not only break the stigma around these illnesses but to help end social isolation in older Vermonters. Our mission is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for all older Vermonters to come together.