Creative Writing with Tyler Barton of ADK Center for Writing

With grant support from Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, Mercy Care for the Adirondacks held its first Age-friendly Communities Education Network Volunteer Retreat on June 16, 2022.  A “Creativity in Aging” all-day Volunteer Retreat was hosted and facilitated by Mercy Care at Mt. Pisgah Lodge in Saranac Lake.  Staff and Community Friendship Volunteers from Mercy Care in the Tri-Lakes region, Community Health Center of the North Country in St. Lawrence County, and from Elizabethtown Community Hospital in Southern Essex County attended.

Mercy Care saw the need to develop the Age-friendly Communities Education Network to provide ongoing technical assistance, in-service, and retreat programs to its direct service volunteers, as well as to all newly-established and existing Age-friendly Community Friendship Volunteers.  Mercy Care is providing technical assistance, training, and tools to help communities in the North Country to establish and operate their own Community Friendship Volunteer programs to help older adults age in place more successfully.   Creating more Age-friendly Communities for people to age in place more successfully requires broader objectives to carry on the long-term, ongoing process of assessment, engagement, and collaboration.  Communities need to better plan and develop the services to meet the needs of older people, families, and caregivers.

Mercy Care presented three Creativity in Aging Workshops with a goal to provide Volunteers with new ideas and strategies to help the elders they assist have fuller lives:

  • “Creative Writing with Older Adults,” offered by Tyler Barton, ADK Center for Writing, Saranac Lake, NY.
  • “Tupper Tale Tellers: Tupper Lake Oral History Project” presented by Christine Campeau Project Manager; Hayley Denis, original T3 member/alum; and Courtney Carey, Library Director, Goff Nelson Memorial Tupper Lake Public Library.
  • Yoga offered by Beth McNally, Earthshine Yoga, Saranac Lake, NY

Through an evaluation survey, participants commented:  “I loved meeting other volunteers.  I liked the face-to face interactions.  100% of respondents said it is very likely they will share the creative skills, techniques or information with their Elder Friends.  And 100% of respondents said they found the Creativity in Aging Workshops and information relevant to help their Elder Friends enjoy a fuller life.

Mercy Care for the Adirondacks is a mission sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy to extend mercy to elders in order to enhance the fullness of their lives.  Its work is carried out through a Friendship Volunteer Program, a Volunteer Parish Nurse Program, a Caregiver Friend Program, an Education and Advocacy Program, and its Age-friendly Communities Initiative.