Happy Family Council Week! A recap of I'm Still Here!
Par Family Councils Ontario
Happy Family Council Week!
To mark this year’s celebration, last week FCO hosted a performance of I’m Still Here! It was an incredible experience for everyone in the room and such a great way to kick off our annual celebration of Family Council work across the province.
About I’m Still Here!
This play “is a theatre production presented by Act 2 Studio, Ryerson University (part of The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education's Programs for 50+).
This sensitive yet upbeat drama, written and directed by Vrenia Ivonoffski, presents the challenges of people living with dementia during progressive stages of the disease.
The goal of this fully-researched production is to help caregivers, families, and the community-at-large to better understand the patient's everyday realities, so they can reduce unnecessary suffering and make their interactions as productive and meaningful as possible.”
Our experience
After the moving performance, we engaged in a feedback session where attendees shared their reactions to the performance, personal experiences of having a loved one live with dementia, and dementia-related questions. We were honoured that attendees openly shared their experiences and feelings with us. Through sharing those experiences, attendees were able to give and receive support to and from others. We shared ideas that can help improve the quality of life of people living with dementia, such as listening to music. Through watching the play together, we were able to connect to one another and create an environment that allowed us to engage in meaningful conversation.
The play, which is based on research, helped us better understand the experiences of people living with dementia. We heard and saw portrayals of wanting to leave a long-term care home to go home, of feeling ignored by friends, dismissed as incapable, feeling confused and angry, and being a caregiver watching your loved one go through these experiences. During the feedback sessions, we shared our reactions to these scenes and how they resonated with us. Everyone saw something in the play that reflected their own experience. It was an emotional experience for many of us, and a learning experience for all of us.
We also discussed ways we can all work to reduce stigma of living with dementia. Attendees mentioned ideas like age friendly communities, making sure that younger people have connections with people living with dementia, and speaking openly about the experience of being a caregiver. When we share our experiences openly, we make connections and feel less alone. I’m Still Here! helped us all feel less alone. Through involvement on a Family Council, we can reduce the stigma of dementia and support caregivers through their journey of having a loved one with the disease. Through strong connections with fellow caregivers, we can change lives of people living with and caring for people with dementia, and change the world. Watching I’m Still Here! together certainly changed our lives, and will help us change the lives of others. FCO sincerely thanks the actors for their moving performance, the writer and director for bringing this well researched and developed play into the world, and everyone who attended the performance.
For more information and to book a performance:
Family Councils Ontario has been able to negotiate a special rate for Family Councils.
For more information or booking for I’m Still Here! (on Living with Dementia), or their sister show No Longer Relevant? (on aging and ageism) please contact;
On line: https://msimstillhere.wordpress.com/contact/
or phone Don Baker at 416-505-5675