What kind of experience will the combination of home-based elderly care service stations and cafes bring? Coffee makers are no longer young and handsome guys and girls, but a group of elderly people with traces of time. What kind of feeling will it bring?
In Jingdu Community, Jiangxi Street, Xinwu District, Wuxi City, a "Memory Caf é" is about to open. As the first caf é in Wuxi with silver elderly as the main volunteer, it will be built into a new elderly health harbor, allowing the elderly to leave their homes and integrate into the community through a new model, reducing the risk of developing dementia.
Home care service station transforms into coffee shop
At the west entrance of Oudian Community, there is a home-based elderly care service station in Jingdu Community. However, the entrance here has changed recently. There is a red canopy with a logo at the entrance, and two long seats underneath. What floats in the air is not the ordinary aroma of food, but strands of rich and mellow coffee aroma.
Walking inside, various equipment such as bean grinders, coffee machines, and milk tanks were neatly arranged. A group of elderly people in their fifties and sixties dressed in uniform were learning various coffee and milk beverage making techniques with the help of baristas. On that day, they were learning how to make South African milk tea with milk thistle, ginger, and turmeric, adding milk, thick milk, milk thistle, and turmeric. "Milk is 8 parts full, turmeric is 3 grams." Someone was holding a formula paper in their hand and earnestly studying with a milk tank.
On the other side of the seating area, there are multiple small round tables for four people, and by the window, there is a long strip of high legged tables and chairs. The Time Museum inside houses nostalgic old items donated by community residents, such as camphor boxes, sewing machines, and soup towels. There is a calendar from 1985 hanging on the wall, and there is also a row of glass display cabinets containing grain coupons from the last century, land deeds with a hundred years of history, etc., all donated by residents.
81 year old Grandma He looked at these familiar objects in her memory and couldn't help but say that they were also present in her home. She usually comes here around 11 noon every day to wait for her old friends to play cards together, and then goes home at 4 pm in the afternoon. There are many people and lively atmosphere here, with free air conditioning, tea, and people chatting and talking, "said Grandma He, making elderly life less difficult. Now that it has become a caf é, the activity content here has not changed, but the environment is better and there are more people.
Tang Xiaoyan, the person in charge of Jingdu Community, said that this is a new idea that emerged from the collision between the community and a chain coffee brand. At that time, she heard that Memory Caf é, originating from the Netherlands, was an innovative elderly care model that was popular internationally, especially in aging Japan. Elderly people with dementia could relax and participate in simple activities here, and their families could obtain information, share experiences, and relieve stress; Community residents learn about dementia and eliminate biases here. In Jingdu Community, the proportion of elderly people exceeds 20%. Can this model be introduced? For this reason, the community has held multiple meetings, and residents have expressed that they can try without changing the original functions of the home-based elderly care service station.
Starting from April this year, the service station underwent a redesign and renovation. Chen Weilong, the relevant person in charge from the brand, stated that they have combined their experience in coffee management and elderly care services to create a new coffee brand here, hoping to start from Wuxi and gradually expand to more places.
A large group of silver age volunteers rushed to come
I am 54 years old this year and have been drinking coffee for 30 years. "In the training area of the coffee shop, Zhang Kuanrong, dressed delicately, was very eye-catching. He is an Italian translator who became acquainted with a foreign scholar during high school and fell in love with this "bitter and sweet" drink ever since. A few years ago, he chose to settle in Wuxi, Shaanxi and became a member of Jingdu Community. He was eager to meet new friends here, and this volunteer experience became his new starting point. He also wants to introduce to everyone the Italian coffee techniques he has learned, such as how the sugar syrup traditionally added by Italians to coffee is made.
Zang Mitian, who is 56 years old, has flexible working hours and only needs to spend two hours a week volunteering here. He introduced that his lover first signed up to be a barista, and later found it good and asked him to join as well. Zang Mitian said that she used to not drink coffee, but now she has learned a lot about coffee and can make several types of coffee. She feels that she can also keep up with fashion and serve others, which is very meaningful.
66 year old Aunt Li Fenglin is the "No.1 volunteer" at the coffee shop. She said she didn't drink coffee originally and was worried about not being able to sleep. When I was renovating the coffee shop, I thought there wouldn't be any business in the elderly community. But after hearing about the operating mechanism and philosophy here, she felt particularly good and immediately wanted to become a volunteer here and do something for society. Auntie Li smiled and said that her son and daughter-in-law both love to drink coffee. When she finishes learning, she will make a cup of "love coffee" for them by herself.
It is reported that initially, the volunteers here were mainly elderly people, but later some young people also wanted to do something. Everyone feels that this is also an interaction between different age groups, and has also attracted a small number of young volunteers. Tang Xiaoyan said that "Memory Cafe" is not only a place to drink coffee, but also a volunteer service platform. At present, more than 50 volunteers have been recruited here, including university teachers, psychological counselors, literary and artistic elites, business owners, etc., ranging in age from 18 to over 60 years old. After 5 training sessions and passing the assessment, they can "take up their posts". For volunteers, as long as they can spare two hours to work as baristas during weekly shifts, it's enough. These volunteers each have their own skills, and they can also become valuable resources for the community in the future, leveraging their strengths and working together to provide more services.
In order to give back to volunteers, the caf é has also established a comprehensive incentive mechanism: providing a uniform, free drinks every day, and inviting family members to taste for free every month or inviting friends and family to customize a gathering space at the caf é; After a certain period of service, it can be exchanged for home cleaning, laundry and other services; In addition, there is a promotion system. This design allows for a response and growth in dedication.
From 'customized care' to 'elderly care services'
There are many different products here compared to street cafes. In addition to selling regular American coffee, many functional drinks tailored to the health needs of the elderly have been added here: "Ginger Milk Tea" with added turmeric and milk thistle helps protect the liver; Adding probiotics to rose tea can regulate the gastrointestinal tract; There is also zero caffeine national treasure tea from South Africa, which allows elderly people who are worried about not being able to sleep to drink it with peace of mind.
Brand Director Chen Weilong introduced that they use coffee beans from Ethiopia or Mantening, and the tea is imported from South Africa. We sell at a low price, with estate American style drinks priced at 4.9 yuan, estate latte at 6.9 yuan, and more expensive flaxseed black sesame milk tea at only 8.9 yuan. We hope that the elderly can drink healthy drinks every day
What's even more rare is that while drinking coffee, the elderly can also participate in activities such as health knowledge classes and cognitive training games here. The caf é is supported by professional forces such as professors from Tsinghua University, Taiwanese natural medicine doctors, and traditional Chinese medicine experts from Wuxi. In the future, it will also launch public lectures, music therapy, and other activities to truly achieve the goal of "protecting memories and enjoying life".
Tang Xiaoyan said that her grandmother developed dementia in her 70s and stopped knowing people after 5 years. If there are dementia patients at home, both the individual and their family members will experience a decline in their quality of life. From the perspective of the community, they do not have the ability to treat this disease, but they have established a service chain such as screening and evaluation, education and popularization through the community, early screening of cognitive abnormal risks, scientific rehabilitation guidance, relief of family care pressure, creating a respectful and inclusive atmosphere for the elderly, and building a strong elderly health protection network in the community.
Our original intention was not to make much money, "Chen Weilong admitted." The 'Memory Cafe' is just one of our projects. What we ultimately want to build is a platform to provide health concepts, products, and services for the elderly. If this model works, we hope to replicate it in more places. "(Huang Xiaoping)