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Are you a family caregiver for someone living with Parkinson’s Disease? Do you know about the “Caregivers Day Off” program? Caregiver’s Day Off, sponsored by the Washington Chapter of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association, serves families coping with Parkinson’s in King, Pierce, Snohomish, Skagit, and Island counties. With A Little Help is proud to be one of three local home health agencies trusted to support and serve Parkinson’s family caregivers through the program which sponsors 20 hours of free professional care annually.
12 August, 2014
Dementia strikes an alarming number of people in King County. According to a King 5 report, in late 2012, over 150,000 people locally have Alzheimers or Dementia. King County’s population was just over 2 million in 2013. That's an incidence of approximately 1 in 7 which is why most of us know someone who has dementia or someone who worries about memory loss. Medicine is still trying to understand how to delay, halt or predict dementia. We can’t cure it but we may be able to reduce our risk up to  50% by taking physical and mental steps toward more robust health.
01 August, 2014
Watching members of our families struggle to function at home either because of illness or aging can cause stress and worry because, unfortunately, houses have been built with only healthy residents in mind. Today the concepts of Aging in Place and Universal Design are revolutionizing the way we build and adapt our houses adding features that are flexible with our changing needs. [caption id="attachment_10974" align="alignleft" width="290"]Gerry Cherney Gerry Cherney[/caption]
14 July, 2014
[caption id="attachment_1571" align="alignleft" width="170"]Shawn D'Amelio Shawn D'Amelio[/caption] With A Little Help’s Director of Business Development, Shawn D’Amelio, is serving as 2014 Conference Chair for the Washington Home Care Association (WAHCA) formerly known as Washington Private Duty Association (WAPDA). In her role D’Amelio will plan and organize the annual WAHCA conference, Blooming with the Boomers, September 16 and 17, 2014 at the Lynnwood Convention Center. “I’m excited to serve as Conference Chair,” D’Amelio said. “Serving in this role is a wonderful learning opportunity for me and I have been blessed with a Conference Committee that brings a great deal of knowledge about home care and our industry as a whole.” The Washington Home Care Association (WAHCA) is a 9 year old organization active in education, support and advocacy for best practices and industry standards that govern businesses providing Private Duty Home Care in Washington State. WAHCA member agencies such as With A Little Help are all licensed by the Washington State Department of Health. Their caregiving teams pass background checks and are licensed, bonded, trained and supervised.
08 July, 2014

Sarel was drawn to With A Little Help (WALH) in 2002 because of her interest in helping others. She enjoys the wisdom, sharing and continual learning in her work as a caregiver. Her care experience spans Dementia, ALS, Parkinson's, MSA, and Cancer. Outside of professional...

27 June, 2014
[caption id="attachment_1533" align="alignleft" width="175"]Linda at her first art exhibit Linda at her first art exhibit[/caption] Linda’s interest in working with elders grew from experiences in family caregiving first with her courageous, lonely, loving grandmother and later her parents. During the five years that she’s shared her skills through With A Little Help she says she most enjoys “being a support to families.” Her own experience caring for parents helps her interact with client families. “I am able to offer a calm, neutral, and supportive influence,” she explained. “It is very heart opening to see families connect and support each other in times of need. I believe our families are the main way we can work through our karma/life lessons and if we don’t heal our relationships with them, we have really missed a great opportunity. I encourage everyone to do this difficult work of healing relationships with their own families. How else can we have peace on earth?”
23 June, 2014
Music is all around us. We hear it in movies, at social gatherings, weddings and funerals, in stores and offices, and in our places of worship.  Whenever we encounter it our bodies react physiologically and our minds form associations. Because we’re all in contact with music and all experiencing its powerful effects, therapists have long suspected it could be used therapeutically. Music therapists began integrating music as a healing modality in the 1970’s but demonstrating its value took time. Today mounting research and case studies, and the advent of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and FMRI (Functional Magnetic Imaging), substantiate music as an effective therapy for stress and a variety of mental and physical health conditions including Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
11 May, 2014
Tuesday May 6th was Seattle’s 4th annual GiveBIG day!  GiveBIG donations surpassed 2013 giving by over a million dollars thereby channeling strong support to Seattle’s non profits. In just 24 hours 64,000 people pledged online donations to over 1500 charitable organizations that shared a portion of matching funds. Senior Services won a "golden ticket" this year garnering an additional $1,000 from the pool of matching dollars!
01 May, 2014
This is the first in a series of book reviews about health, aging, and caregiving but it also marks the launch of a blog series profiling our wonderful caregivers.  In these blogs we go beyond the demographic backgrounds of our staff and invite you to gain a deeper understanding of why our caregivers choose this meaningful work and why we're proud to offer their service. Meet Ginny Moore, caregiver and author of Don't Make Lemonade; Leaning Into Life's Difficult Transitions What do we do when life gives us lemons? The reigning positivity in American culture tells us to make lemonade but author Ginny Moore, in her book Don’t Make Lemonade: Leaning Into Life’s Difficult Transitions, urges readers to “face the lemons.” In this engaging and honest book Moore portrays her challenging journey through adversity to empowerment with page turning skill. She draws universal themes around her complex personal experience and offers inspirational encouragement to readers going though loss and transition. With a trustworthy authorial voice like a wise friend Moore assures us that facing change and honestly processing emotions will lead to healing and greater understanding of our lives. This is a refreshing and validating book that I might read again---and again.
26 April, 2014