Depression: The Silent Struggle for Older Adults and Their Caregivers

“Depression: The Silent Struggle for Older Adults and Their Caregivers” an all day free conference is set for Wednesday, December 13, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., at the Borg Warner Rooms in the Tompkins County Public Library.

A keynote delivered by Dr. Robert Dean, Cayuga Medical Center, “Depression in the Second Half: Mood, Illness, and Metaphor” offers an overview of depression and older adults. Four workshop address different aspects of this mental health problem:

• Spirituality: The Search for Meaning, Jacquie Lewis, MDiv, MA; Ms Lewis is a chaplain at Cayuga Medical Center
• The Power of Recovery in Later Life, given by Bill Rusen, LMSW, Executive Director, Cayuga Addiction Recovery Services and Arpi Hovaguimian, LCSW-R, Executive Director, The Alcohol and Drug Council of Tompkins County
• Advance Health Care Planning: Working Toward Peace of Mind given by Marilyn Kinner, Outreach Program Coordinator for Ithaca College Gerontology Institute, Betty Falcao, Director of the Health Planning Council of Tompkins County, and Beverly Hammons, Special Projects Coordinator, Health Planning Council of Tompkins County
• Caregivers at Risk: Promoting the Wellbeing of Caregivers of Older Loved Ones with Lisa A. Kendall, LCSW, Caregiver Counselor and Respite Program Coordinator, Family and Children's Service of Ithaca, Home Care Program.

To register for the conference call David Bulkley, Mental Health Association in Tompkins County, 273-9250. To request an accommodation for a disability, call Larry Roberts, Finger Lakes Independence Center, 272-24333 (v/TTY); please call him by December 8.

Actual schedule:

• 8:30 – 9:00 Registration
• 9:00 – 9:15 Introduction
• 9:15 – 10:15 Dr. Dean
• 10:15 – 10:30 Break
• 10:30 – Noon Workshops (spirituality, addictions)
• Noon – 1:00 Lunch
• 1:15 – 2:45 Workshops (Sharing Your Wishes, Caregivers)
• 2:45 – 3:00 Break
• 3:00 – 4:00 Panel

The conference is sponsored by Family and Children’s Service of Ithaca, Home Care Program; the Finger Lakes Independence Center; the Mental Health Association in Tompkins County; Sharing Your Wishes: A program of the Tompkins County Human Services Coalition; Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service; the Tompkins County Office for the Aging; and the Tompkins County Public Library.