[Speaker 2] (0:03 - 0:41)
We have successfully run many intergenerational programs. I think that this one in particular was important because the focus was dementia and it was a positive way to connect the generations and to have kids really be exposed to and become more confident in interacting with a population that is often so isolated and honestly misunderstood. OMA to me is all about connecting, like how do you connect, it's what makes us human.

[Speaker 1] (0:42 - 0:51)
And when people develop, are living with dementia and they develop the various diseases that cause dementia, it can be really isolating, it separates us.

[Speaker 7] (0:51 - 1:16)
OMA, the design of the actual program that is evidence-based shows that if you're bringing two different generations together, they're expanding each other's horizons, correct? And so, this in Swampscot was perfect because we are right here with the high school. High school students in the health class are able to get exposure to how the brain changes with dementia.

[Speaker 2] (1:16 - 1:21)
I think that it was a great learning opportunity. It was an opportunity for a lot of inclusion.

[Speaker 1] (1:21 - 2:00)
That collaborative nature between generations is what OMA is all about and, you know, I love how it flips. So in the beginning, the students become the teachers. So students who are students and are in school then get to experience this role of being the teacher and the facilitator, they're the volunteer.

And what happens during the course of the program is the artists who they're partnered with, then it flips again and they become the teachers. They're the ones with these bits of wisdom and talking to the students and sharing.

[Speaker 12] (2:03 - 2:14)
To be honest, when I first heard of it, I did not know exactly what it was. But I think when I started to know about it after the training, I think it would be a good way to help other people out, which was really good for me.

[Speaker 4] (2:15 - 2:31)
I was definitely nervous, but I did feel prepared with the trainings. I understood basically what the process was going to look like and what to do in certain situations. But there were still things I was kind of unclear about that kind of just didn't work themselves out until the actual day of and then I got used to it.

[Speaker 6] (2:31 - 2:44)
I think the first challenge was really trying to explain this to the students when I first was proposing it to them because the idea of it was so out of this world, something that they've probably never really heard of. So really just laying that down.

[Speaker 3] (2:44 - 3:01)
I knew what it was, but I didn't actually know what it was. I knew it was art projects with people with dementia, but I never fully understood how those two could correlate. I was like, what's the point of doing art?

How does that work? How does that correspond with these types of diseases and stuff?

[Speaker 6] (3:01 - 3:22)
Day one before we went over, everyone was a little anxious. I was a little anxious. So really just encouraging them that they can do this.

They had training. They know what they're doing. And really just trying to keep encouraging and keep the positivity and knowing that after that first time, the more and more times we go over, that comfortability and that flexibility will keep growing and really start to blossom into something special.

[Speaker 5] (3:22 - 3:34)
The fear that there was something that I could do and outlet sort of, that I could be involved with to learn more about the disease and also to help others in my community, I think was definitely an opportunity that I had to take.

[Speaker 1] (3:40 - 4:29)
What this founder of the program of OMA did was turn it into working with abstract art, which leveled the playing field. The art making piece is really important because it is a step-by-step process, because it is abstract and layered, and people are working with color and line and different materials. The first thing it offers with someone looking at a piece of art is that it's not just a living with dementia, it's choice.

So to have the choice of picking the palette of colors you would prefer right off the bat, that's giving someone autonomy. It's saying, I respect you, you're human. And in the end, what happens is there's surprise, there are elements of surprise, there are elements of beauty, and the playing field is leveled.

[Speaker 2] (4:30 - 4:52)
There's so much about the program that I loved, but I think what stood out at first was that it was an intergenerational program that centered around art. And it was obvious in some of the videos that I watched how meaningful this program was for both generations involved, so it was just something really exciting to be a part of.

[Speaker 9] (4:55 - 5:19)
I would highly recommend it, that I think that almost anyone, it would be very profitable for them because you could draw a whole lot of things, and they would learn things that they had no idea that they were going to learn. You think back, you know that was a lot of fun, it really gave you a lot of enjoyment.

[Speaker 11] (5:21 - 5:46)
I think it's a very nice program, I mean it takes a group that we're looking for things to do and we get to do it, and we get to spend a lot of time doing what we like to do. I think everybody was pretty much having a good time.

[Speaker 8] (5:46 - 6:27)
That was nice to see him just get out of the house and talk to people, and you know, he can be a very talkative person when he wants to be, so that was nice to give him a change from me. But also seeing some of the other people in the group that when I first saw them they were very quiet and reserved, and by the end of it they were like, oh hi, how you doing? And they were having a great time, and the difference was amazing.

There's just so much I can do because as a caregiver you get a little frustrated or you get a little tired, and to be able to have an hour off for yourself, and then they get an hour off doing something fun, is wonderful.

[Speaker 5] (6:27 - 6:42)
I'd say my favorite memory was probably their bro table, I mean it was just a lot of fun, and to be with both Quinn and Nick, both people that I knew really well, to be with them, it was definitely a comfort I think to all of us.

[Speaker 3] (6:42 - 7:06)
My favorite part was probably my partner, Karen. I forget what the art project was, but she was, it was one with like stamps, and she just kept doing it, and then by the end of it she was like, wow this looks like a bee of some sort, so I thought I really liked that one, I think she titled it like insect or something. I really liked that one because she was just having fun with it, and she really was enjoying that art project, and it turned out to be like an actual picture.

[Speaker 10] (7:07 - 7:17)
She was wonderful, we talked about a lot of things, and she was constantly getting me my different things that I needed to paint, and she was very sweet.

[Speaker 13] (7:17 - 7:21)
Chloe was absolutely wonderful, who was assigned to build.

[Speaker 9] (7:21 - 7:36)
I was very much surprised and very pleased, and I enjoyed working with Chloe. She was really a joy to work with, and I enjoyed it very much.

[Speaker 13] (7:36 - 7:52)
He actually did some art, and it was good art, and one of them was made into a birthday card, and so I think that I was very surprised that he loosened up to do that, that Chloe was able to help him do that.

[Speaker 4] (7:52 - 8:10)
He made one called, I think he titled it like the day after a party night, and it was cool, I don't know, it looked like the day after a party night, it was just like random designs all over it, but it ended up being cool. I think that was the one that was featured on a card or something at the final reception.

[Speaker 10] (8:10 - 8:29)
Looking forward to something with people my age, and even older and younger, I don't have that opportunity very often, and the program brought out the fact that talent doesn't depend on age.

[Speaker 5] (8:29 - 8:40)
And it was a unique experience for the rest of the people, because it was a friendship both between the artists and the volunteers, and to see that kind of mesh was a wonderful thing.

[Speaker 4] (8:40 - 8:54)
I think it did show the impact that art can have on people who struggle with these diseases, and I think it was cool to see how social interaction and art and quality time can help them.

[Speaker 12] (8:59 - 9:13)
The biggest takeaway I had was just helping other people out. It was just good to talk to them, because it might be hard for them, because sometimes they have nothing to do, and just helping them make art and stuff will make them have fun.

[Speaker 6] (9:13 - 9:22)
I thought it was an opportunity to bring the learning that I try to preach and teach every day inside of the classroom, outside of the classroom, and give them an opportunity for real hands-on experience.

[Speaker 5] (9:23 - 9:42)
Throughout the program, I switched around from helping out actually set up the artwork to working one-on-one, and we built some really great relationships. I think just anyone who's considering it, I think that you definitely should take the opportunity and do it, because it's a really great thing that we have, and I don't think that it's going to grow from here.

[Speaker 1] (9:43 - 10:09)
I feel like we have participated in this new generation of young people who have an awareness, and perhaps they would be willing to, if they saw someone in the store struggling with coins, they might have an awareness that that person might be living with dementia, maybe I can help them out and offer a hand. They know how to respond to those situations.

[Speaker 7] (10:09 - 10:27)
My dream was really, how cool would it be if students who are exposed at this level now then go on to work in things like brain health and health care for seniors and for our aging population, and I think it will make a difference, I really do.

[Speaker 3] (10:28 - 10:49)
I would say definitely take the opportunity and do it. It's definitely a very eye-opening experience, especially if you've never experienced being with someone with this kind of disease before. It definitely shows you what it's like to live with it, what it's like for their caretakers and what they go through when they're taking care of them and just being with someone with that disease.

[Speaker 4] (10:50 - 11:01)
I would say definitely take the opportunity, I feel like it was very moving, it was cool to be able to connect with someone, especially when they would talk about things in their past and remember things, it was cool to see that happen.

[Speaker 2] (11:02 - 12:00)
I think it was a highly effective intervention or program because I saw improvement in the participants that participated and I saw changes in the students. Those two populations were so positively impacted. I think caregivers, their families observing this did so much to just kind of spread awareness amongst that population.

Then there were the parents of the students that were involved in this program, just hearing about it, coming to our show, the entire staff at Swampscott High School becoming aware of this and then even projects like this documentary, I think spread awareness to our community in such a broad, broad reach. Just have a lot of gratitude to OMA, to being able to watch this, to be a part of this project and I really do think it works, it's highly effective.