Memory Café held at Lisa Rice Library

BOWLING GREEN Ky. – Lisa Rice Library and one of their librarians Emily Witthuhn have started a Memory Cafe, a weekly event where individuals suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s related memory loss and their caretakers can come together to socialize and learn new skills as a community.

“We don’t know how it’s going to go, but we’re excited about it. We’ve got a lot of potential community partners here right now who are excited about it with us wanting to just make this as good as it can be,” Witthuhn said.

Witthuhn’s father Paul Potter suffers from memory loss and decided to attend the Cafe in order to learn new skills himself in order to better help himself and his family.

“When you have memory problems and all the things that go along with Alzheimer’s psychosis and confusion, it’s just sometimes it’s hard for people to be around you to put up with that kind of stuff,” Potter said.

Overall the event is meant to raise awareness and reduce the common practice of keeping those suffering from memory loss from socializing with others. Brittany Bennet with the Alzheimer’s Association attended part of the event to encourage attendees to make this a weekly part of their schedules.

“This is a really great way for them to bring their loved one that they’re caring for and also be around others who are dealing with the same issues and getting that unity and that community that they really need to be able to call someone when they have questions,” Bennett said.