In brief, here’s what’s been happening:

Art from the Heart Fundraiser
On May 3 we will host our annual fundraiser, Art from the Heart, in the historic Piedmont Community Hall. As usual, we’ll auction paintings created by our participants and beautifully framed by businesses who donate their services. We’ll also have food, wine, entertainment, and a silent auction. This is always a very popular and fun event.

We will be in touch with more details, but right now please save the date and please help us with donations. We need your support to make this event a success. There are many ways to help—by donating items we can auction (services, vacations, meals, goods), by making a monetary donation, and by attending the event. Keep an eye on our website www.aseb.org and Facebook page for more information as it becomes available. Even $20 can make a difference.

Transition from ADHC to CBAS
Effective April 1, 2012, Community-Based Adult Services (CBAS) will replace Adult Day Health Care (ADHC), which was eliminated by the California legislature. CBAS will be administered through three Medi-Cal managed care plans: Alameda Alliance, Anthem Blue Cross, and Contra Costa Health Plan.

The transition from ADHC to CBAS has been difficult because there is so much uncertainty, and it’s hard to deal with uncertainty when your need is immediate. As of today, many of our families still don’t know if they’re eligible for the program. We’re still waiting for regulation revisions, and we still haven’t been told what the reimbursement for each participant will be. As the government scrambles to connect the dots while they attempt to overhaul a system that’s been in operation for three decades, we’re left to carry on our day-to-day operations not knowing what the future will bring.

One bright spot in this ordeal has been Ingrid Lamirault, CEO of Alameda Alliance. Ingrid and her organization have been a blessing to ASEB. Ingrid has attended our meetings, helped us formulate ways of dealing with the changes, shared data, and generally provided a strong guiding presence through this period of transition. ASEB looks forward to a fruitful partnership with Alameda Alliance.

Oakland closure
It was a difficult decision, but on February 17 we closed our Oakland Center. The good news is that all of our Oakland participants were welcomed at either our Berkeley or Hayward centers. We were also able to retain most of our Oakland staff. Just last week our Berkeley site was licensed to accept 15 new participants in addition to the 45 who already attend. Participants from the Oakland center are thriving in their new homes, where we continue to provide them with outstanding care.

As always, we are grateful to all of you who support us in our mission of caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s and providing respite to their families and caregivers. Thank you!

Micheal Pope
Executive Director
Alzheimer’s Services of the East Bay

This year more than ever, we need your help to make this event a success. Many of the social services provided over the past 30 years have been eliminated by the state legislature in an effort to balance the California budget. We desperately need your donations—in the form of monetary gifts, prizes to be auctioned, and your attendance at the fundraiser. Please take a moment to donate an item or become a sponsor. Feel free to call Andrew at (510-644-8292) if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you there!

First, I would like to say that this victory was brought about by the concerted effort of a group of organizations and individuals that worked together in a way that was truly inspiring. One thing that I learned through this process is how powerful we are when we join forces, and how the synergy that results from uniting for a common cause can be used to make change. I haven’t seen this kind of collaboration for a long time. Disability Rights California, the National Senior Citizens Law Center, the National Health Law Program, the AARP Foundation, the California Association for Adult Day Services, Morrison & Foerster, and others negotiated at length with the DHCS before reaching a compromise that preserves ADHC-like services for people who are at risk of institutionalization. In addition, a dedicated group of families, caregivers, staff, and individuals showed up at rallies, wrote to their representatives, attended meetings, and did everything in their power to convince the government that the services their loved ones received are absolutely critical to their well-being and happiness. I am deeply moved by the passion and commitment I witnessed on so many levels.

But future is still uncertain, and our struggle is far from over.

The program that will replace ADHC, called Community-Based Adult Services (CBAS), will offer center-based skilled health and nursing care, therapies, transportation, and other services to eligible low-income seniors and people with disabilities. Because individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia are high on the list of those entitled to care under CBAS, we are hoping that most of our ASEB participants will qualify for the new program, which will be offered through Medi-Cal managed care plans. Part of the settlement was that the ADHC elimination date would be extended from December 1, 2011 to February 29, 2012. During that time, we at ASEB will be working with the appropriate agencies to make the transition from ADHC to the new program as seamless as possible.

While I’m hopeful that the families we serve will receive the services and support they need, we have yet to learn the particulars of the new program. For example, the state has not yet indicated how much it is willing to reimburse us in our efforts. That’s now under discussion, and we will continue to advocate for the critical care that will keep people with Alzheimer’s in their own homes and communities, and out of hospitals and institutions. I know that we need to continue to work together, to avoid becoming complacent, and to be on fire about standing up for what we know is right. We need all the help we can get in the coming months.

Finally, I want to express my deep appreciation to everyone who has brought about this encouraging victory and who rallied around ASEB during this difficult time. To all of our families, board members, and staff, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You sustain me and give me the hope and energy to continue this vital work.

Wishing all of you the very best of the holiday season and health and happiness during the New Year.

Sometimes we forget what’s behind these numbers. What do dollar values mean in terms of a person’s life, their welfare, their happiness? It’s easy for insurance actuaries. They can tell you how much a life is worth from now until the time of death. But when you work with people as they get older, when they begin to open up the portals onto the landscape of their lives, you realize that it’s much bigger than that, much richer. The value of a life—its experiences, the people that have passed through it, the joys and struggles, the daily routines and simple pleasures—how do you account for that? How can we continue to squander the enormous wealth our elders have to offer us while we tally value only in terms of dollars and cents?

We believe in investing in our youth because, we say, our children are our future. But what are we teaching our youth when we turn our backs on the under-served, the elders, the people we think aren’t capable of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps? What are we teaching our youth about taking care of people who need help taking care of themselves? The lesson should be that, as a community, we have a responsibility to every member. That we’re strong only if everybody eats, if everybody has shelter, if everybody feels safe. If any of us is missing these three things, all of us are in jeopardy.

I hope, when talking dollars and cents, we ask ourselves What is the price of companionship? Of kindness? Of comfort? Of eating a meal with others or going to sleep in your own home? What is it worth to honor a life fully lived? What do we lose, as a community, when we waste one of our greatest resources?

ASEB offers a comprehensive range of services for families facing the challenge of dementia. Our programs include Adult Day Health Care, Caregiver Support, Early-Stage, and Education & Training.

I grew up in the Bronx, in a neighborhood where it was a given that we were all responsible for each other. As children, we were responsible for the seniors around us. Any opportunity we had to serve them, to show them how much we honored them, to demonstrate how respectful we were of them, well—we knew we’d better not let that opportunity slip by. If the sidewalk in front of their houses needed shoveling, we did it without question. If my mother saw an elderly neighbor coming down the street with groceries, she sent us out to carry them. We helped the older members of our community up the stairs. We listened when they spoke. We were proud of our job, which was to make their lives easier for them.

Mural of tiles created by adult day health care participants
welcomes visitors to our Berkeley Center

These attitudes still inform my view of the world and my place in it. Sitting around the beauty parlor listening to my grandmother and her friends talk about their wealth of experience enriched my own life. It taught me that my journey would have been a lot harder if they hadn’t cleared the way for me. The reverence I have for elders goes beyond my professional knowledge about aging to what I learned in those New York brownstones. I am my brother’s keeper. We must take care of those who are less able than ourselves. People are not disposable. We are responsible for them. It is our job to make them as happy and comfortable as we can. I want my children to understand that they won’t be young forever. I try to teach them that we are not in this world alone, that we all want and need someone to care for us. The responsibility is ours.

This is a particularly challenging time—for our country, our communities, our neighborhoods, certainly for our seniors, and crucially for ASEB. The California state government has voted to eliminate adult day health care as we know it, and to replace it with a program yet to be defined with only half the current funding. But as the Executive Director of ASEB, I intend to embrace challenge and turn it into change. And from change will come innovation. This is our opportunity to turn ASEB upside down, to really look at the needs of our people and to create a model that fits exactly what they need within the financial parameters of what we’ve been given. I believe there are untapped resources for us to explore. I believe that there are creative ways to address our shortfalls. I believe in the spirit of innovation and the power of dedication to achieve our goals. But we need your help.

Since 1989 we have found ways to stay afloat so that we can give individuals with Alzheimer’s the services they so desperately need. But as number of people needing our help continues to grow and the funds we receive continue to diminish, we are reaching out to our community for support. Please give so that we can allot scholarships to people who can’t afford care on their own. So that we can continue to provide more than 63,000 nutritious meals and snacks a year, more than 34,000 van rides, more than 100 support groups sessions, and—perhaps most important of all—a safe, caring environment for people who rely on us for their well-being.

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May 3, 2012

* * * UPDATE * * * Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner just added as keynote speaker!

Silent and live auction items include beautiful paintings created by ASEB participants and custom framed by local framers, a one week stay at a vacation house on the Big Island of Hawaii, gift certificates from local businesses, and a variety of exciting gift baskets!

It’s that time of year again. On Thursday, May 3, 2012, ASEB will hold its annual fundraiser at the historic Piedmont Community Hall. Details to follow, but please save the date and watch this space for updates. Last year we raised $35,000 at Art from the Heart—resources that provide crucial support to the families we serve. We invite you to come and enjoy the fabulous food and wine, the great company, the music, and the silent and live auctions.

This year more than ever, we need your help to make this event a success. Many of the social services provided over the past 30 years have been eliminated by the state legislature in an effort to balance the California budget. We desperately need your donations—in the form of monetary gifts, prizes to be auctioned, and your attendance at the fundraiser. Please take a moment to donate an item or become a sponsor. Feel free to call Andrew at (510) 644-8292 if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Art From the Heart

Thursday, May 3, 2012
6:30-9pm
Piedmont Community Hall
711 Highland Ave
Piedmont, CA

An event to benefit individuals and families supported by Alzheimer's Services of the East Bay.
Patrick Walsh, auctioneer
Fine Food
Fine Wine | Live Music
Tickets: Art Patron $50, Art Lover $100
For more information, or to reserve a ticket, please contact us at (510) 644-8292
More information here.