LET’S TALK: CAREGIVING MATTERS & OTHER ISSUES FOR OLDER ADULTS
Every Tuesday from 3:00 to 4:30 pm
Upstairs Conference Room
Please join us every Tuesday for the third series of Caregiving Matters to inform, inspire, and connect individuals in the community and help them to navigate the territory of caregiving, serious illness and grief.
Bonnie Evans is a geriatric nurse practitioner with experience in hospice and palliative care, an end-of-life doula, and a caregiver advocate.
Join one, some or all sessions! All sessions will be available via Zoom.
Schedule:
May 7 – Anticipatory Grief and Loss
Grief can surface well before a death or loss (divorce, illness) & can go unrecognized in ourselves and others. Let’s talk about possible symptoms and how to support each other along the way.
May 21 – View and Discuss the Documentary “In the Realm of Death & Dreaming”
Fascinating interviews with people who’ve had near death experiences, nurses, chaplains and physicians to investigate whether there may be consciousness after death. There will be time to have a discussion on this interesting, uplifting, and beautifully filmed documentary.
June 4– An Introduction to The Village Common of RI
Susan McCalmont from the Barrington Village will review this neighborhood approach to coordinating services for older adults to “age in place.” It is a non-profit volunteer-driven membership organization. There are 6 villages so far in RI and this information may be the inspiration for one here in Bristol.
June 18 –Our Own – Death Café
The concept of gathering over tea and cake and having an open discussion around life, death, and what really matters to us, originated in the UK and has now gone global. After a brief introduction, we will follow the conversation wherever it leads us. This will bring our spring program to a close.
Take a “Walk” in the New Goree Neighborhood along Wood Street
Wednesday, May 15, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Benjamin Church Senior Center
How do people choose a place where they would like to live? How do they build a neighborhood and a community?
Lynn Smith of ResearchBIPOCHistory.org will offer a slide show/virtual walk of the historic “New Goree” neighborhood of Wood Street. The slide show will be followed by a Q & A.
Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP with Donna Wilson from the Senior Center to reserve your seat: dwilson@[email protected]
Before the Portuguese, the Italians, and the Irish, the free black community of Bristol settled in what was named “New Goree” in the late 1700s. Attendees will learn about the leaders of that community who built a church, and a school, and elected their own governor—and paved the way for later immigrants to the area. The effect of the building of the rubber company factory in the 1860s and the impact of its growth on the area and its residents will also be investigated.
If you would like, linger afterwards to videotape a 3 minute message about YOUR memory of living, or working, or worshipping in this area. Bring a memento if it helps to tell your story. These video memories will be edited together and shared on the RFL and Research BIPOC History websites for all to enjoy.
If you can’t make this event, there will be another “Walk” on June 5, 2024, at 6 pm, at the Bristol Sports Club, 417 Wood Street, Bristol. Please RSVP here: www.researchbipochistory.org
ADDRESSING HOUSING INSECURITY
Tuesday, May 28, 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Herreshoff Community Room
Rhode Island is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis.
Join us in a conversation with Candace Pansa from the Bristol Housing Authority and Diane Madeira from East Bay Development Corporation as we discuss the specific challenges facing Bristol and East Bay residents. How are their respective organizations working to help people find homes and what does the future hold for housing?
This program is a collaboration between the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and Rogers Free Library.
Registration is recommended. Click HERE to register
For information on additional programs, please visit our calendar at rogersfreelibrary.org/calendar