Call For Art: 2024 Calendar

Deadline: September 15, 2023

Eligibility: In order to be eligible, artists must be age 55 or older and reside in King County.
Submission Guidelines:

All art will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis to fill our 12 available slots. The sooner you submit your work, the better!

Artists can submit one piece to be featured. The submission must be a high-resolution image of an original work (a photo of an original piece or an image file of a digital piece). Calendars will be 11” x 8.5” horizonal layout when printed. To ensure that their artwork is effectively framed, artists can crop their image to be 2550 pixels tall by 3300 pixels wide. If the artwork submitted does not fit this aspect ratio, please be advised that the artwork submitted will be cropped as needed to fit the calendar dimensions before printing. Artists must submit their name as they want it to appear with their work, the work title and media used, and an artist statement (no more than 200 words) to accompany each of their submissions

A final page proof will be shared with all submitters before printing to ensure copy provided for the image is correct.

If you have any questions, please reach out to T Stastny, Marketing & Communications Specialist, at thereses@soundgenerations.org or 206.727.6265

Max. file size: 5 MB.

Hyde Form

Meals on Wheels: Help Make a Difference in Issaquah!

Program: Meals on Wheels
Location: Issaquah
Schedule: Wednesday mornings
Duration: Ongoing
Group or Individual: Individual
Kid Friendly: No
Contact: mealsonwheels@soundgenerations.org

Looking for a volunteer opportunity that is fun and rewarding? Join our Volunteer team! As a Meals on Wheels Volunteer, you will belong to a team committed to helping homebound seniors maintain their health and independence with nutritious food, personal contact, and caring service.

Office Assistant: A volunteer is needed Wednesday mornings, 8:30AM- 11:30AM, as needed. The position includes packing meals, calling clients for their orders, and various office tasks that keep Meals on Wheels humming along on schedule when our weekly office volunteer is away.

Are you typically available Wednesday mornings and interested in this volunteer opportunity?  Contact us for an application to get started!

Matter of Balance (MOB): Seeking to Train Volunteer Coaches!

Program: A Matter of Balance – Coach Training

Location: Training will be via Zoom

Schedule: The training is completed in two 4-hour sessions (over 2 days)

Duration: A total of 8 hours for the training (workshop is led with 2 trained coaches over 8 weeks)

Group or Individual: Training can be done in a group or with an individual (a workshop is a group of 8-12 participants)

Kid Friendly: No

Contact: Deidre Daymon, A Matter of Balance – Master Trainer at deidred@soundgenerations.org or 253-670-0073

Program Description: “A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls is conducted in 8 two-hour sessions and uses group discussion, problem–solving strategies, videos, and gentle physical exercise. Older adults learn positive coping methods to reduce the fear of falling and remain active and independent.

A Matter of Balance coaches helps participants become more confident about managing falls by believing that they can increase their strength, find ways to reduce falls, and protect themselves if they do fall. In addition, participants report that they have increased the amount they exercise on a regular basis. 

 A Matter of Balance coach needs good communication and interpersonal skills, enthusiasm, dependability, and a willingness to lead small groups of older adults. Coaches also need to be able to lead low to moderate-level exercise.

 For more information on becoming A Matter of Balance coach, please contact Deidre Daymon at deidred@soundgenerations.org or 253.670.0073

Geriatric Mental Health Workshops

Sound Generations Geriatric Mental Health Workshop series offers educational curriculum that addresses the mental health needs of older adults. There are currently approximately 54 million older adults (ages 65 and beyond) now in the United States, making up 16 % of our population. The Baby Boomer generation, estimated at 73 million, will all be 65 years or older by 2030 and the older adult population is expected to grow to 95 million by 2060. Baby Boomers are predicted to have more mental health issues than previous generations due to their enhanced life expectancy, as will likely be the case for the following generations, as well.

Despite the urgent need, current statistics reveal that there are not enough trained professionals who have the specialized training to adequately understand and serve the mental health needs of older adults. The Geriatric Mental Health workshop series at Sound Generations hopes to help fill this gap in educational opportunities for licensed professionals as well as other service providers who work with older adults.

Sound Generations recognizes that maintaining good mental health is a vital part of the aging process and practitioners and service providers need to keep abreast of trends and treatment in this field. We want to ensure service providers have access to this valuable information for years to come so that strong mental health is prioritized among our aging population.

Our workshops are 3-6 hours in duration and are generally held monthly via Zoom. Currently, we offer licensed mental health professionals Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in the geriatric mental health field, approved by the WMHCA. We also welcome anyone who works with older adults professionally to join us to learn from experts in the field of Geriatric Mental Health.

The Geriatric Mental Health Workshop series is designed and managed by Continuing Education Specialist, Alison Laird Craig. Robin Nelson, LICSW, GMHS oversees the program.  Alison can be reached at alisonc@soundgenerations.org if you have questions or would like to teach a workshop.

Previous workshops have focused on Dementia/Delirium- Diagnosis and Treatment, Elder Law, End of Life Conversations, Elder Law and Pharmacology, Caregivers of Older Adults- Conflict and Cooperation, Elder Abuse and Neglect, Crisis Intervention and Prevention , Navigating Systems for Elders and more.


Upcoming Workshops


January 2023

Enriching Dementia Personhood in Older Adults Through Creativity and the Arts with Angel Duncan, PHDc, MA, MFT, ATR – 3 CEUs 

Thursday, January 12, 10am-1pm PDT

Sound Generations Geriatric Mental Health Workshops is pleased to introduce you to Angel Duncan, PHDc, MA, MFT, ATR.  Angel’s research and work is in the neurosciences and focuses on how creativity positively impacts the brains of older adults. This course describes symptoms of normal aging versus dementia, cultural attitudes and perceptions in aging and disease and the impact of health provider education. From diagnosing, research efforts and treatment options in memory and cognitive disorders, a focus on the neurosciences is explored through the arts and humanities. This course provides a learning objective on aging and dementia populations and the inner workings of how creativity enhances the brain-body connection. A review of common misconceptions about identity and conscious awareness in persons living with dementia is discussed with the role of neuroplasticity in mindfulness practice. Through social prescription programs and advancements in medical education and training, stigmas are beginning to shift.  From early to late stage dementia, creativity is exemplified as a best practice in treatment in health and wellbeing. This session aims to alter the perceptions of how persons living with dementia are perceived by societal norms and the need to establish more meaning engagement activities. The importance of why the arts and sciences are needed is demonstrated to enhance quality of life for those living with neurocognitive impairments, and how the arts preserve personhood.

NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN ART THERAPY OR THE ARTS NECESSARY

Learning Objectives:

  • Participants will gain an understanding of the basic etiology of Alzheimer’s disease, cultural discrepancies, and the advancements in research and treatments 
  • Participants will be able to identify four differences between normal memory and Alzheimer’s disease  
  • Participants will learn and understand cultural attitudes and perceptions towards ageism and disease and identify three ways of breaking down barriers 
  • Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how the neurosciences and expressive art therapies function in brain-body connection in aging populations and memory disorders  
  • Participants will understand neuroplasticity function and its role in mindfulness engagement in neural development  
  • Participants will gain deeper knowledge into how creativity compliments neuroscience through research, brain imaging studies, and the need to utilize creativity throughout aging years 
  • Participants will learn how social prescriptions enhance health and wellbeing in aging and dementia populations and be able to identity three national community program offerings   
  • Participants will gain knowledge in the field of art therapy and how it applies as a holistic treatment in mental health for aging populations and memory disorders   
  • Participants will learn three ways how to apply art techniques in individual and group activity sessions for populations living with memory and cognitive disorders 
 

3 Continuing Education credits for social workers, mental health clinicians and marriage and family counselors.  Case managers and other service providers are also welcome to attend. 

NEW WINTER TIME – 10AM – 1:00PM PDT, Thursday, January 12th, 2023. The workshop begins promptly at 10am, and includes a break. This class will be taught over Zoom. Workshop information and Zoom link will be sent out 1 week beforehand. Please make sure to save the link.

COST – $65.00

 

 

If you prefer to pay by alternative payment method, rather than online, please email Alison at alisonc@soundgenerations.org. If you are paying for more than one person in your organization, please email Alison with the full names and email addresses of all attendees so she can send them the information and link to join.

PLEASE NOTE: Registration will CLOSE on TUESDAY, JANUARY 10TH, 2023. Register early!

If you have questions about our workshops please contact Alison Laird Craig at (206) 727-6226 or via email at alisonc@soundgenerations.org.


Upcoming 2023 Geriatric Mental Health Workshops

January – Implicit Bias in Healthcare: Bias Training for Geriatric Therapeutic Specialists with Darcia Tudor, JD, LMHC, CWM, DTBA, Thursday, January 19th, 9:30am – 4:30pm PDT

February – Conducting Mental Health Assessments with Older Adults with Terri Haaga, MSW, LICSW, GMHS, Wednesday, February 15th, 10:00am – 5:30pm PDT

 

 

 

More Information and Registration Coming Soon!


Senior Rights Assistance Changes Lives

“I didn’t know what I was going to do when my husband got ill. Senior Rights Assistance (SRA) was just perfect for what I needed. The staff are just the best, and they put a whole load off my mind. Over several months, whenever I didn’t’ know where to turn, [the volunteer lawyer] just guided me. I just can’t say enough about this woman, she did everything step by step and she’d keep up encouragement… if she didn’t know the answer, she’d make sure that she’d get it. It’s not always easy doing all these things because it’s complicated, but it’s easy working with someone who makes it very simplified. If somebody needed legal help, I’d send them to Sound Generations.”