The Erev Program guides the Jewish community in relating to its members/families who are in the darkness of dementia.  As the Jewish population ages and dementia becomes more present in the Jewish community, it is more important for the Jewish community to develop a community-wide approach to relating to dementia rather than leave it to each person with dementia and their family to deal with dementia separately.  Each community and each patient/family is different so there is no one “cookie cutter” approach to dealing with dementia, but there are actions each community can take that will serve as the basis for developing its own approach to community members with dementia.  The Erev Program’s purpose is to present this “model” approach, which each community can then take and adapt for its own needs.  The Erev Program is based on successful development and operation of the model in the Jewish community in Denver, Colorado.

 

Main Steps in Creating and Running The Erev Program in a Community

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The main steps in developing The Erev Program are:

 

1. Identify the organization that will be the lead for The Erev Program in the community.  In Denver the lead organization is Jewish Family Service www.jewishfamilyservice.org, that integrated its Erev Program activities into the activities of its JFS Disabilities Advocates Program www.jewishfamilyservice.org/services/jewish-disabilities-advocates.

2. Define the objectives of The Erev Program in the particular community.  In Denver the objective is to raise Awareness and Conversation about dementia in the Jewish community, and to organize and run activities (see below) that advance this objective.

3. Identify the partner organizations/channels through which to make the community aware of The Erev Program.  This is likely to include synagogues, elderly care homes, religious and social groups in the community, senior men’s/women’s groups (spouse of person with dementia), groups targeting ages 40-60 (children of person with dementia), and other channels.

4. Identify activities that The Erev Program will organize and undertake together with the partner organizations to advance the objective.  This may include Support Groups, talks at forums that take place in the Jewish community, participation in activities in other organizations, etc.

5. Identify resources needed for the functioning of The Erev Program.  These may include administrative resources, people with particular backgrounds such as clergy or people who are already connected with dementia and can speak about it, spokespeople including those with Early-Stage Dementia who are comfortable sharing from a personal perspective, technical/creative resources, facilities or equipment, financial resources, etc.  These may come from partner organizations, volunteers, or other sources.

6. Set up the ongoing mechanism for operation of The Erev Program, adjusting its structure and methods, evaluating results, and proceeding with its activities.

 

Not all of these steps are appropriate for all locations that are running a version of The Erev Program, and other steps may need to be added.  In any case all activity should be oriented toward the objective of The Erev Program: for the Jewish community to develop a community-wide approach to relating to dementia.

 

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