Veteran’s Day is a day of reflection, when we honor those who have fought for our freedom throughout the years. While younger vets have protected us in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, we still have living vets who fought in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam.
Chelsea Place, an Anthem Memory Care community, is home to veterans of several wars. To honor them, Chelsea Place’s Jenni Seaman, Life Engagement Director, along with the team at Fox Hollow Elementary, organized a local parade down the streets of Aurora, Colorado.
The event was covered by “9News” local NBC affiliate, KUSA. You can watch the entire video here.
Families of the participants were eager to share their thoughts and feelings about the special event. Vietnam veteran, Terry Vaughn, a Chelsea Place resident, said “It makes me proud. From generals to colonels [service] is one big organization.”
It is interesting to note that often, for those veterans with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, long term memories can remain strong. As Jenni Seaman noted, “That history they have as a veteran resides in their long-term memory which is still intact even through the dementia process.”
Chelsea Place is active in the community at large, with programs designed to bring seniors together with young people and to share experiences and stories. The Veteran’s Day parade is just one of many such programs. And the relationship between the residents and caregivers is extraordinarily close. “We have a very deep connection,” Jenni Seaman says. “They're not my work, they're not my job. They're my friends and my family and my passion and to be able to open up their world like this - it just makes me so proud.”
To find out more about Chelsea Place’s engagement program, please visit their website. To find an Anthem Memory Care community near you, visit our communities page.