Connections ❤ from the heart
Connections Project ❤ From the Heart
In this project, volunteers come to the homes of people with dementia and activate them. Each home is visited about 15 times, for weekly, one-on-one, hour-long meetings. The volunteers work under a coordinator from the municipality, who has undergone training and receives ongoing support and activation kits from the Amda Association.
The goal of the Connections ❤ from the Heart project is to improve the quality of life at home for people living with dementia and their caregivers. The activity combines activities for the person with dementia in their home using the EMDA Association's Connections and Skills Kit , and also includes training for the primary caregivers by volunteers.
At the beginning of the project, volunteers undergo comprehensive and customized training on dementia, activating people with cognitive decline, customized communication, and challenging behaviors that appear as a result of the disease.
The project coordinator then assigns a volunteer to each family, who will visit their home once a week for a period of approximately three months. The volunteers also receive ongoing group guidance from the professional facilitator.
The benefits and advantages of the Connections Project ❤ from the heart
The project's contribution to participants with dementia and their families is extremely significant: in addition to the enriching and enjoyable activities of the volunteers and participants, the primary caregivers (usually close family members) learn how to keep the person with dementia active at home and the benefits of doing so, and receive information about treatment and support options in the community and beyond, in addition to improving their own treatment skills and receiving personal support from the volunteer.
Like the participants, the volunteers themselves also talk about feelings of empowerment, importance, enjoyment, help, and great contribution that encourage them to continue volunteering in the project and contributing of their own accord.
For the past two years, the Connections ❤ From the Heart project has in most cases been fully funded for Holocaust survivors recognized by the Claims Conference, with which we collaborate. In most places where the Claims Conference funds activities with Holocaust survivors, it requires that the group be only for them.
Interested? Contact us!
Welfare managers and other relevant managers from municipalities and regional councils? You are welcome to contact us for more details and to check the programming to launch the ❤ Connections from the Heart project in their locality. You can contact the project manager: Noa Matias – noa@alz-emda.org.il
Are you caring for someone with dementia soon ? If you are interested in ❤ Heart Connections for them – check the table below, and see if there is such an activity in your locality, and that it is relevant to you (for example – in many localities the condition is that they are Holocaust survivors recognized by the Claims Committee). If there is an activity, and you meet the criteria, contact the project coordinator, and order ❤ Heart Connections for your loved one, in their home. If not, and there is no activity, you are welcome to request it from the municipality. Direct the welfare department in your municipality to this page, and ask them to contact Noa.
Interested in volunteering for the project? Check the table below, and see if there is such an activity in your community. If so, contact the project coordinator, and offer to join the volunteers in your community. If and when a project starts in your community, you can be among the first to benefit from it. If not, direct the welfare department in your municipality to this page, and ask them to contact Noa. If and when a project starts in your community, you can volunteer for it.
Authorities where the ❤ Connections from the Heart project is currently operating
| Locality | Hub | Email (and more details) | For Holocaust survivors recognized by the Claims Committee (and funded by it)? | For all residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ofakim |
Olga Boyevich |
Yes |
No |
|
|
Bnei Brak |
Miriam Nadel |
Yes |
No |
|
|
Beit Shemesh |
Dina Namdel |
Yes |
No |
|
|
Bottom roller |
Shani Birger |
No |
Yes |
|
|
Hadera |
Chen Yariv Makbili |
Yes |
No |
|
|
Holon |
Mayra Marmor |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Ashkelon beach |
Daphna Boganditz |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Tirat HaCarmel |
Larissa Kangon |
Yes |
No |
|
|
Jerusalem |
Deborah helps |
Yes |
No |
|
|
Kfar Saba |
Zehava Baum |
No |
Yes |
|
|
Yoav Regional Council |
Tema Lightbody |
No |
Yes |
|
|
Central Arava Regional Council |
Neri Goren |
No |
Yes |
|
|
Afula |
Tamar Lahav |
Yes |
No |
|
|
Kiryat Bialik |
Ofek Azulay |
Yes |
No |
|
|
Rishon Lezion |
Karin Keenan |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Rehovot |
Yona Dittman |
Yes |
No |
|
|
Ramla |
Jana Uzitel |
Yes |
No |
|
|
onyx |
Forest of Kalifa |
Yes |
No |
