Oklahoman Chosen for the 2015 Memory Bridge Retreat
Jeanene L. Lindsey, will be the first Oklahoman to attend the 2015 Memory Bridge Training Retreat. Jeanene graduated from Southern Nazarene University says “I am honored to be the first Oklahoman to receive the Memory Bridge Facilitator Training. I share the Memory Bridge Mission and I am dedicated to ending the social isolation of people with dementia.”
Memory Bridge invited 12 people from across the U.S. and abroad to join the 2015 Training Retreat (June 19 – 24) in Bloomington, Indiana. This year 80 applicants from 7 different countries applied and one Oklahoman was chosen. The 12 selected participants received full scholarships to the 5-day training retreat that will be held in Bloomington, Indiana at the beautiful and contemplative Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center. The training retreat is co-sponsored by Indiana University’s Center on Aging and Community at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community.
The design of the retreat will be based on Memory Bridge’s Life Is a Bridge Dementia Immersion Training, an experience-centered learning journey that positions people with dementia in the roles of teacher, guide, and companion. In keeping with that design, participants will meet five times, in person, with their Buddies – the elders with dementia participating in the program.
In addition to the one-to-one and group visits with the Buddies, training will incorporate presentations, facilitated discussions, video case studies, I-Land mapping, literature and films, peer-to-peer and intragroup sharing, drum circles and meditation.
After completing the training retreat Jeanene will facilitate the Memory Bridge message throughout Oklahoma. Jeanene said “The program can be facilitated in a multi-generational environment by setting up programs in local public schools, Universities or non-profit organizations. In all honesty, I see no part of my life, personally or professionally that will not be touched in a profound manner from what I understand about the Memory Bridge vision. I see the vision in every sense “building a bridge” between what I know as an individual and what I need to know to be there for those I care for. I am proud to be a part of a global community of people who, like Memory Bridge, are learning to listen to people with dementia for what they have to teach us about our own humanity”.
For more information on the Memory Bridge visit
Or email: Jeanene Lindsey @ Jeanene.lindsey@cune.org
