OUTREACH NEWSLETTER |
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Outreach Newsletter: November 2003 "If
you've met one family with Alzheimer's disease, you've met one family
with Alzheimer's disease." -Lisa Gwyther, Social Worker at Duke Family
Support Program 1. WELCOME I continue to hear more and more great reports from the outreach front. There is an enthusiastic buzz emanating from the PBS grapevine and from our partners as well. The Alzheimer's Association already has organized over 200 house parties to view the premiere in 17 states. So, I'm happy I can give you good news from production. We shot the national follow up show, "Alzheimer's: The Help You Need" on October 25th. David Hyde Pierce was a gracious and informed host. The audience asked very good questions, such as, "How do I take away the car keys?" "Is there life after caregiving?" "What treatments are available for Alzheimer's patients?" The panel of experts supplied compassionate and practical answers to these and other vexing questions. And, we were honored to have in the audience some of the family members who were featured in "The Forgetting." Please note the date of the pre-feed of the national follow up show. Those of you creating your own programs or those who will localize the national show can get an early look at what we have done. Keep sending
us stories about what is happening in your communities. We want to share
these with everyone. 2. SPOTLIGHT
ON: FAITH IN ACTION Faith in Action is a nationwide volunteer caregiving initiative of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. As a national network of free, interfaith, community-based programs, Faith in Action provides services to those with long-term health needs including Alzheimer's disease. Volunteers help those in need to maintain their independence for as long as possible by providing assistance with daily activities or respite for family caregivers. These volunteers help their neighbors stay in their own homes and in their own communities and give people the gift of independence – a gift that older Americans treasure above all others. Currently, there are nearly 1,000 local Faith in Action programs nationwide, and 44 percent of those programs help persons with Alzheimer's disease or their families. In addition to the national partnership between the Alzheimer's Association and Faith in Action, local programs across the country are supporting "The Forgetting" by reaching out to local communities to recruit volunteers. These Faith in Action volunteers may help by offering respite care, shopping for groceries, providing rides to medical appointments, cooking meals, doing light housework, running errands and/or providing companionship through visiting or telephone reassurance. According to a recent survey, approximately 16 million older Americans struggle with daily activities as simple as shopping, cooking and housework. Nearly one half of those who have difficulty do not receive any help from family or others. The lack of assistance and difficulty finding additional help threatens the ability of these older Americans to continue to live independently in their homes and communities. The same survey indicated that older Americans prefer receiving assistance from faith-based organizations over secular organizations, like the community programs formed through Faith in Action. For more information about volunteering or receiving services, call toll-free (877) 324-8411 to reach the Faith in Action national office. Or visit the Faith in Action Web site at www.faithinaction.org to find a program near you.
3. THE
FORGETTING WEBSITE - READY TO LAUNCH One of the most exciting features is the "The Living Center," the first ever home-on-the-Web for people with Alzheimer's. Click on "The Living Center" and you will find yourself in a typical American living room setting, where every object links to an activity tailored specifically for a person with Alzheimer's. The activities will be a great way to relieve the stress of visiting someone who has Alzheimer's. Other Web highlights include: 1) An interactive
brain that explains the difference between normal forgetfulness and Alzheimer's
forgetfulness. We'll send an e-mail announcement to our newsletter subscribers as soon as the Web site is live! In future newsletters, look for announcements about our web promotional toolkit and information on how you can localize the national site. Both will be made available soon after launch.
4. IDEAS
FOR PROGRAMMERS Multiple
Broadcasts Theme
Programming Have more ideas? Let us know! E-mail us at forgettingproduction@tpt.org.
5. UPCOMING FEED DATES For those of you hoping to incorporate the national follow-up show into your local programs, we will be feeding a preview version of "Alzheimer's: The Help You Need with David Hyde Pierce" on December 5 (12:30-13:15 ET on 512). The feed will include alternate voiceovers for localization and a MetLife credit for grantees who produced local follow-up shows. At the time of the feed, we will also send out an e-mail with suggested edit points. Watch your inboxes for the edit suggestions and feed date reminder. Until then, if you need an immediate preview of the follow-up show on VHS, please contact Heidi Van Heel at hvanheel@tpt.org. (Note: This feed is intended for stations who need to edit the follow-up show for local content. In January, PBS will be pre-feeding the entire 120 minutes – the documentary and national follow-up show packaged together.) Also coming in December, we will be feeding a long format clip from the 90-minute documentary. The clip will be long enough to show at preview screenings, but we'll offer suggested outpoints if you need a shorter clip.
6. OUTREACH SITE ADDITIONS A new clip
from the show is available on the outreach Web site under outreach tools
at http://www.tpt.org/NPD/forgetting/tools.html.
7. COMING NEXT MONTH In our next newsletter, we'll tell you more about organizing house parties for the premiere. We'll also give you news from the promotion front and tell you more about how to use The Living Center on our website. Stay tuned...
8. CONTACT
INFORMATION
9. SUBSCRIPTION
INFO…TELL A FRIEND!
Produced by Twin Cities Public Television. Funded by MetLife Foundation. Additional outreach funding by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. |