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The NOAH Project
The NOAH Project is a community outreach effort to assist small towns,
rural communities and underserved urban areas in developing their own
services to help ADRD families. The NOAH Project is a comprehensive plan
to better serve residents who are often challenged by geography,
poverty, transportation, and cultural barriers to dementia care. Our
goal is to create a framework of easily-accessible community services
throughout our coverage area to reach hundreds of ADRD families.
The ARK recognizes that each community has its own unique identity,
personality, and culture. Residents know their own needs, and are best
suited to meet those needs if given the opportunity and the proper
tools. The ARK is a catalyst to help them get started by:
- Helping the community articulate and
understand the needs of its dementia residents
- Assisting willing groups in creating both a vision and a plan of
action
- Providing objective feedback and advice based on our own
experience
- This can be accomplished by offering communities:
- Technical direction in organizing,
development, policies and procedures
- Staff/volunteer training in dementia care
techniques
- Educational materials and educational
opportunities for caregivers and volunteers
- Identification of grant funding sources
- Review/critique completed grant
applications
- Availability to provide advice and
counsel as program grows
Identifying and gathering community partners and
interest groups to assess immediate and long range needs will lay the
groundwork for community development.
- Caregiver courses will be offered once each
year in each of the target areas. The course will cover a wide range
of caregiving issues such as communication, personal care,
behavioral concerns, caregiver stress and resources for further help
with caregiving responsibilities.
- Quarterly, selected small towns will host
educational seminars on memory loss issues and practical caregiving
topics. Memory screenings and early diagnosis will be emphasized
along with resources for help.
- The current Caregiver Consultation service
will be expanded.
- Support groups will be established
strategically in each county where access to a support group does
not exist.
- Respite centers will be established as
communities step forward to take ownership of programs.
Target Population: The NOAH Project
focuses on rural and underserved groups. Interest has come from the
African American, Hispanic and the Native American community.
The following chart identifies people living in the immediate 5 county
service area that are known to have ADRD. However, communities in the
Upstate, Midlands and Pee Dee regions have contacted The ARK in regards
to starting respite programs and support services.
| County |
Community |
Long Term Care |
Totals |
| Charleston
|
2260 |
1105 |
3365 |
| Dorchester |
583 |
307 |
890 |
| Berkeley |
678 |
329 |
1007 |
| Colleton |
289 |
159 |
448 |
| Orangeburg |
742 |
437 |
1179 |
| Totals |
4552 |
2337 |
6889 |
All types of dementia,
2006 USC School of Public Health Alzheimer’s Disease
Registry
TIMELINE:
Present –
- Staff changes completed to build capacity of
program and project for long range plan
- Continued support of St. Stephen community in
Berkeley County – Support Group (Self Help Club) started in April
2009 and Respite center development in progress with start date -
May 2010
- Continued support in Strawberry community in
Berkeley county - Their respite program started in March 2008 with
technical assistance from NOAH Project
- Continued support to EIMAS program on Edisto
Island -- Respite program started in February 2008 with technical
assistance from NOAH Project
- Contacts and meetings with community leaders
in Colleton, Berkeley, Dorchester and rural Charleston Counties.
Continue to work with groups already contacted. Specifically,
Town of Hollywood, rural Charleston County – Cross,
Berkeley County
Ruffin/Smoaks area of Colleton County
Upper Dorchester County
Kusso-Natchez/Edisto Indian tribe in Dorchester County
Wassamasaw Varnertown Tribe in Berkeley County and the
Santee Tribe
- Funding research is constantly on-going.
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