The Unexpected Miracle of Music for Seniors Suffering with Dementia & Alzheimer's

In this episode, we explore the transformative power of music for seniors with dementia and Alzheimer's with Chris Shepherd, Director of One Senior Place in Greater Orlando. Chris shares his personal journey and insights into how music can connect with those experiencing cognitive decline, offering both comfort and joy.

We discuss the profound impact of music on memory care, including Chris's touching story of his grandmother, who could sing Christmas carols despite her inability to speak. Discover practical advice on creating personalized playlists for loved ones with dementia, a simple yet effective way to maintain connection and improve quality of life.

Chris also introduces the 'Musical Minds' choir, a unique initiative where dementia patients and their care partners come together to sing familiar songs, fostering a sense of community and shared experience. Additionally, we delve into the role of music in hospice care, highlighting its ability to bring light even in the final stages of life.

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Transcript

Darleen Mahoney [0:02 - 0:25]: Today we are joined by Chris Shepherd. He is the director of one Senior Place in Greater Orlando. Chris oversees day to day operations and business development, connecting clients and senior focused service providers. One of the things that I really enjoy about Chris, as I've really gotten to know him, is that he believes gratitude makes the world a better place. And I really like that about Chris. 

Chris Shepherd [0:25 - 0:27]: I do. I do believe that. 

Darleen Mahoney [0:28 - 0:55]: Yeah. Thank you so much for joining us today. So one of the things that, when I was getting to know Chris and talking to him a little bit, is that he was sharing with me the power of music with those, with seniors, but seniors specifically that were facing some cognitive decline or dementia and Alzheimer's diagnoses. So tell me a little bit more about, about that in general. 

Chris Shepherd [0:56 - 1:25]: I'll be happy to because to me, there's nothing that is more hopeful and more life giving for people who are experiencing dementia and their care partners and their family than music. I've experienced it personally and I've seen it in action. Those around me, you know, I do want to tell you this, and you probably know it, Darlene. There are 101 types of dementia. Alzheimer's is the most common. Music is the part of the brain that we never, ever lose touch with. 

Darleen Mahoney [1:26 - 1:28]: I did not know that that is the part. 

Chris Shepherd [1:28 - 2:58]: All the research shows that that is the facts. It's amazing. So music is the part of the brain that is always intact. So the way that this first started working within me, I was very close to my grandparents. I spent every summer with them all through my childhood years. I lived with them in my early 20s for a little bit. They were. They were my rock. And my grandmother had a terrible stroke, so she had vascular dementia and it stripped her eventually of all speech. But probably two years into her stroke, they had 21 grandchildren. I was the second oldest. Everybody would come home every time they could to their little old farmhouse in Southern Indiana. So you can picture a scene and it would be just like you picture Christmas Eve. A little bit of snow and everybody gathered around the kitchen and. And my grandmother was in the kitchen. She could sit at the table. She couldn't feed herself, she couldn't talk to us, but she could smile and she could sit and we'd have conversations around her, but nothing, give and take. And so my cousins and I, all 21 of us, started singing Christmas carols. And believe it or not, my grandmother, who had not spoken for months, was not able to speak, could only do syllables, not even often in response to anything we couldn't tell, started singing word for word the Christmas carols with us, it was incredible. And we. We sang I. Between an hour and two hours. I'm sure that evening. It's been years ago that this happened, but we were all interested in shock. 

Darleen Mahoney [2:59 - 3:01]: I would have been bawling. I just think I would have. 

Chris Shepherd [3:01 - 4:33]: We were, you know, but we didn't. We didn't let it go because we were so excited that grandma was able to communicate with us through song. And so she. As she was singing, tears were streaming down her eyes, but. But she sang every word of every carol that we sang. And, you know, all of ours were too. We were in awe, but we just kept singing. We didn't want to quit singing because of what it was doing for her and for us. It was our connection. When we stopped singing, she could no longer talk. She could no longer verbalize any words. And only when she could sing could she verbalize words. Eventually, her condition worsened where she couldn't even verbalize words. But if you played music for her that she loved, and back then it was a boombox or something, you play it and she would calm down, she would smile, she would love, she would be so happy. She'd be engaged with the people around her. And it wasn't that music was such a big part of her life. Music was a part of her life like an average person's life. It wasn't like she was a musician. She didn't do solo. She didn't play an instrument. She just enjoyed music like the average person in the world does today always has. So that music always touched her soul. So that kind of motivated me. I treasured that in my heart. I still do. And I began working in senior living many years ago, and I would see so many people with dementia and their struggle, and I'd look for ways to connect. And I started noticing that music was one of the ways to do that. So that began the journey where some other things. 

Darleen Mahoney [4:34 - 5:14]: That is an incredible story. It's. You know, those are the things that I think we really need to continue to highlight when we're reaching people that especially caregivers that are working with or living with or taking care of their family members with dementia. Because I think a lot of times they don't realize that they. They may utilize the television to kind of occupy the mind of, you know, the person they're taking care of when they can't be that person that's, you know, having conversations or they're doing activities or whatever the case may be, they may not realize that music is really probably a really amazing. Great choice. 

Chris Shepherd [5:15 - 6:27]: I really think it's the best choice. In fact, I'll tell you this. When you mentioned television, I personally would recommend staying away from that, unless you feel like someone really connects with something. Because the research shows that many people with dementia, when they're watching a show, that they can't distinguish between what's real and what's on the television or the screen. So if they often see something on the screen, they feel like it's right there in the room or right there in their immediate surroundings. So that can be really distressing, that can be confusing, the sounds can be confusing. But, you know, I'm not a music expert. I have no training in music. I just know what it does for me personally. I know what it does for everyone around me. Remember I was talking with a friend recently. You know, I was. I was becoming a young adult in the 80s, and everybody listened to the top 40 radio stations. It wasn't like today. And, you know, we all knew the songs, and when we hear them, we know them, we start singing them. Even if. Because. So I think it's still that way today. People still connect with music. They may have different genres, but if people can be connected to the genre that they love, the tunes that they love when they have dementia, and I can tell you much about this, it helps in so many ways. It helps with agitation. It helps with sundowning. I mean, there's just a lot of research that shows this. 

Darleen Mahoney [6:28 - 7:03]: Yeah. I mean, even for like, even me and probably you. And I think most folks, if they hear a song, especially from like, I want to say, like their youth, you know, their high school years, their middle school years, you know, all those, you know, the times in their life where they have specific angst or things going on, if they hear a song that brings them back to some of those times when they have maybe young love or they have different things that are going to. Or breakups or, you know, their first child or their children are being born or those types of things, those songs can literally transport you back to that time. 

Chris Shepherd [7:03 - 7:59]: Absolutely. Absolutely. And it still does it for people with dementia. They can't verbalize it, but the research shows that it's there. There's a connection. So that's. That's remarkable. There's a. There's a movie, you may have heard of it, called Alive Inside. Anybody can look it up and it talks about. It shows visually the power of music with people who have dementia that are non verbal. And the research shows that sometimes people who are even nonverbal when they hear music that they love, that there was their song like you just referred to for a couple minutes. After that, they'll be able to have a conversation. So it does something deep within them. I'm not saying it's a healing for dementia. I'm not saying that it makes it go away, but it reaches the person emotionally because they're still there. That person is still there. They just can't connect with us in the way that they want to. And music helps them find a connection, and it helps us find a connection with them. 

Darleen Mahoney [8:00 - 8:14]: That is absolutely incredible. I love that. So are there specific programs that people can utilize that helps them, like, really understand how to integrate music, or is it just something that you would just do on a daily basis? 

Chris Shepherd [8:15 - 10:04]: Well, there are different, you know, the. There are different organizations that focus on Alzheimer's that are realizing more and more and dementias the power of music. So it doesn't matter where someone lives. If they connect with an organization that is focused on dementia and Alzheimer's, they should be able to find somewhere in their area that uses music to connect with people. Unfortunately, it's not promoted enough. I feel people don't know about it enough. But there's. Those organizations will help someone connect. I think that I've heard this many times and I've done it myself and I've advocated for with people and they told me what a difference it makes when someone has an early stage diagnosis of dementia. I think the best thing a family member can do, or a loved one, a care partner can do is make a recording of their favorite playlist. Make a playlist, make a playlist of their favorite songs. If they happen to make two or three playlists, make a playlist of their favorite songs. Play with them now. Play with them throughout. Because just like what you said, what it does for us, it'll do that for them. And you can make that playlist with them when they have early stage dementia. So it's actually a thing that you do together. You're caring for each other as you do it. So that's a wonderful experience. And that experience will stay with the care partner as the person goes through their journey. But I think it will also stay with the person who has the dementia and their emotions, because you know as well as I do, if you've been around people with dementia, their emotions are intact. They just sometimes can't express them, but they're there. And so that music is something that brings that to life. I could tell you a little bit about a choir that we started Here locally, and there are other choirs like it around the country. Maybe someone here would want to start something like it if you wanted to hear about it. 

Darleen Mahoney [10:05 - 10:18]: Yeah, no, I would love to hear about that. I think people can hear about what other areas are doing and recreate it in their own area. And that's how we kind of. We can continue to give back to those folks. 

Chris Shepherd [10:18 - 14:39]: Absolutely. And I was working for a senior living company, and one of my focuses was connect community connections. And I really. I'm passionate about people with dementia. And I knew about this with music. And so I found out that there were choirs that were like, there were some in the Twin Cities in Minnesota, one in D.C. uK. The United Kingdom has several choirs for both people with dementia. And the choirs involve the people with dementia and their care partners. So that really intrigued me because support groups are great, but support groups are usually. And they need to be there. They're very important. But they're focused on helping the care partner. That's what I like to call someone, because you're still a partner, not the caregiver. It's fine. But I love to call people care partners because they still care for each other. So, you know, but the care partner and the person with dementia, they're both care partners are in there together. And they're not just focused. They're not focused on the disease if music is involved. They're focused on joy and the things that make them laugh. And so I saw that in my research and talking with people who lived in these various places and reading, I thought, wow, why couldn't we do that where I live? And so I was able to find some funding, and you don't need that much funding just to be able to have a piano player. If you can't find a volunteer and someone who can lead the music, I can't lead it. I can't sing worth a darn. All I can do is make a joyful noise. You know, I like making a joyful noise, especially in the shower or with someone that I love. And so, you know, and just so there we. We started this choir with different groups. It was the. I will tell you this in the area that I live, which is central Florida, it was the first time that all the organizations that were focused on dementia, that were nonprofits, ever worked together for a single go. And I think that in itself demonstrates the power of music. And I think that if they. We did it here, that could happen in many places. And those organizations worked for that single go to start this choir. Like, nobody's Business. It's called Mythical Minds. So what's. So there could be a similar choir started anywhere in this market. We didn't do it as a performance choir. There are choirs for those with dementia that are performance based. Sometimes we have performances, but it's really a sing along choir. So people who came didn't have to have a big background in music, but we studied the demographic of who, the people who were coming, the age range of who were coming, and the people who put it together came up with the most popular songs from that demographic. How hard is that? And so, you know, when people came, oh my gosh, I get so excited. You should see. Still to this day, the choirs are still in place. People's expressions who have dementia, when they hear songs that they love, they can come in because we've extended it now where it's not just for early stage dementia, we extend it to other, you know, stages. But they can come in even in the mid stages when they can look lost and they hear the tune that connects with them and their faces brighten up like. Unbelievable. I wish I could show you a picture. It's amazing. It's like, it's like magic. And we. Our first one, I'll tell you this little story and then I'll quit. I'll let you talk because I could go on and on. We had a little lady named Barbara. She was further along than what we really wanted to have in our musical minds choir. But we felt like, you know, that's been the rule. She wanted to come and her caregiver would bring her. Her daughter wasn't able to bring her, but they hired someone to bring her. She had a walker. She could hardly get in. She was up in age, like 80s, very, very immobile. Very hard for her to navigate with the walker into the choir room. And so this Barbara, when she had a conversation, when you talk to her, it'd be ba, ba, ba, ba ba. You know, like it can be. She could sing every word. She'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. After a few months of her coming to that choir, our choir director decided that he would start occasionally trying to invite people if they wanted to. We had a big area in the front. If they wanted to dance or move to some of the music, everybody else would be singing. He'd invite them to dance. And do you know who went up front with her walker? Ms. Barbara. And she put it aside and she was just. And she could hardly move. But the music released something for her. 

Darleen Mahoney [14:39 - 14:41]: And she was, she was, she was getting down. 

Chris Shepherd [14:41 - 14:43]: She Was getting down every week. Every week. 

Darleen Mahoney [14:44 - 14:44]: Yeah. 

Chris Shepherd [14:44 - 14:54]: And we had a one and we had a wonderful lady who would come and she had early stage. I mean, she had. She'd been diagnosed early in life, late 50s with dementia. You know how's. Terrifying. Is that. How sad? 

Darleen Mahoney [14:54 - 14:55]: Yeah, brilliant. That is very sad. 

Chris Shepherd [14:55 - 15:38]: Fantastic career, awesome lady, well known. And she would hear the music and just come alive and it would happen over and over and over again. I could tell you so many, many, many stories. And so I just want to tell anyone out there, if you're going through this struggle with someone that you love, whether it's a grandparent, an aunt and uncle, a neighbor, whoever it might be, no matter what your age, if you're 11 or 12 or you're 56, you know how to make a playlist. If you don't, someone can show you and connect with that person, find the music they love and make that playlist and you will be blown away what it does for them and for you as you connect with them. I'm. I mean, I. It's, it's, it's incredible. 

Darleen Mahoney [15:38 - 15:45]: Yeah. So I wanted just to clarify, so who is in this choir that is. It's called Music Minds. 

Chris Shepherd [15:46 - 15:46]: Musical. 

Darleen Mahoney [15:46 - 15:59]: Musical minds. Okay. So our, our. Is it just regular. Just people that are going to sing to folks with some cognitive issues or people that have cognitive issues that are in the choir? 

Chris Shepherd [15:59 - 16:02]: People that have cognitive issues are in the choir with their. 

Darleen Mahoney [16:03 - 16:07]: Oh my gosh. There you go. Okay. I was not understanding that. Okay. 

Chris Shepherd [16:07 - 16:08]: With their care partners. 

Darleen Mahoney [16:09 - 16:10]: Okay. Okay. 

Chris Shepherd [16:10 - 16:15]: So that's really cool because it's people with cognitive issues with their care partners. 

Darleen Mahoney [16:16 - 16:39]: Okay. All right. I was not understanding that from the very beginning. I'm so glad I asked the question. So that completely makes sense. And maybe you mentioned that and I completely missed it, but I get what you're saying now. Yes. Okay. So they're able to entertain and sing along with their care partner in the choir themselves. 

Chris Shepherd [16:39 - 16:44]: Yes. And it's not a performance based choir, so anyone can do that. It's a sing along choir. If you wanted. 

Darleen Mahoney [16:44 - 16:45]: It's a sing along choir. 

Chris Shepherd [16:45 - 16:46]: I think you could. 

Darleen Mahoney [16:46 - 16:47]: Okay. 

Chris Shepherd [16:47 - 16:49]: But it's a sing along choir, so. 

Darleen Mahoney [16:49 - 16:49]: Okay. 

Chris Shepherd [16:49 - 17:49]: You know, they pick songs that are very well known, the words will be on the screen. But often, you know, I had this experience just a week ago where I work. One of our businesses had an 80s party and it was hit tunes from the late 80s and a lot of people came and I knew so many of them, I wasn't even there. You know, I was in my Office. But I could hear the songs and some of them I hadn't heard for years, but the words were just coming back to my mind. You know, I stick and picturing myself driving down the highway, you know, with the windows down, singing those songs, you know, being a young person. And so, you know, it's just like if that's happening for me, you can imagine it's. I see it happening for people with the cognitive issues, with the dementia, they don't. They may not even be able to read the words anymore. But when the songs connect with them, they remember them and they sing them and they know at least part of them and the joy it brings them, it's a joy that they don't often experience. So it's like a, it's like a spark in their life. 

Darleen Mahoney [17:49 - 17:50]: Yeah. 

Chris Shepherd [17:50 - 17:50]: For everyone. 

Darleen Mahoney [17:50 - 18:57]: Well, I. You talked about the 80s, so the 80s is what they're going to be playing when I'm in senior living. So that will be, that will be the old folks music at that point. So I know I was going through the radio station one day like weeks ago and it said oldies and it was played in 80s song. And I'm like, wait a minute, 80s is now oldies music? That's my parents music. And I'm like going, oh my gosh, I have become my parents. So I guess that it is actually probably oldies right now. So. Yeah, for sure. And it's so funny because you know how you sing songs and then you sing the words that you think the song is and then you have your, your sing along partner standing next to you and they go, what did you just sing? And well, you know, I believe in Malco instead of miracles. And they're like, that's not quite the word. So, you know, you probably have some seniors making up their own words to their own memories of what they think the song actually said. 

Chris Shepherd [18:57 - 19:00]: Sure. But it never matters, right? It never matters. 

Darleen Mahoney [19:00 - 19:03]: It doesn't matter. Who cares? You're having a great time, right? 

Chris Shepherd [19:03 - 19:18]: Who cares? And when you have a diagnosis like that, the great times become increasingly rare. So we have to be able to connect with them no later, no longer. What their stage is through music. What a gift. What a gift, you know? 

Darleen Mahoney [19:18 - 19:33]: Yeah, yeah, Yep. I had a girlfriend, she would, she would be singing. And this was not that long ago that I looked at her and I said, what are you singing? She said, you know, I believe in Malco. I said, I don't know what Malco is, but I don't think that's it. 

Chris Shepherd [19:35 - 20:42]: It's so true, you know, I think too, a lot of hospice companies are finding, you know, they already know the power of music. And music therapy is such a growing career path for many young adults. And it's so important. And I personally experienced this. Both my parents passed away recently and the hospice company they were with had music therapists. My parents were, you know, not even aware of what was happening in the room at the time. But music therapists sang songs that they knew and that their faces lit up briefly. It touched everyone in the room. It touched them even as they were getting ready to pass from this life. So I think even that shows that the path, you know, it's becoming more and more recognized, the power of music. But you don't have to wait for a music therapist to come to you. That's a great thing to have. Thank God we have them. But, you know, you don't have to wait to have a sing along choir because of our wonderful technology today. You can create a playlist for the person you love if you live in the most remote area and connect with them through the power of music, which I just think that's incredible, right? 

Darleen Mahoney [20:42 - 21:46]: And we don't even have to try to put it on an eight track tape or the regular tape. Back in the day when it would get all like, you'd have to get a pencil out and tighten it up because it would get all loosey goosey because we can just get on all the different apps, whatever you're utilizing, and create them. When I was growing up, I. I have memories every Sunday. It's so crazy. My mom was the school teacher, so on Sundays she would, you know, we would go to church in the morning, but then every afternoon was all afternoon. She would do all her lesson plannings. So they had an office. And then my dad was an architectural engineer, so he would, he would be working next to her and they would spend Sunday afternoons in their office, but in the office was a couch and like a little. It was also like a den area. And I can remember going and laying down in there and reading while they did all this work. And they would play ABBA every Sunday. So I just have memories. Every time I hear abba, I think of my parents. 

Chris Shepherd [21:46 - 21:46]: Sure. 

Darleen Mahoney [21:47 - 21:47]: Yeah. 

Chris Shepherd [21:47 - 22:03]: Because that's what it does, right? It takes you back to a place with a person, you know, or some, some experience. And if you are losing your memories and you can connect to the emotion, oh my gosh, you know, I. It's just, it's wonderful. 

Darleen Mahoney [22:04 - 22:29]: And the comfort of just being in that safe environment at home with my parents Just working away and, you know, Sundays are always lazy and you're tired and you're just winding down from the weekend. And it was just always, I don't know, it's a safe place. It's a, you know, just a very good memory without, you know, anything major happening or excitement. It's just that it's home, it's comfort. 

Chris Shepherd [22:29 - 22:31]: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. 

Darleen Mahoney [22:31 - 22:57]: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So the. So is there. Oh, is there with this choir that you're talking about, is there like a website or information where people can kind of go to, if you're listening in a different state and you think, I really like this idea that how can I get more organized? Or is that something that people are just going to have to kind of do on the fly? Is there something where they can get more information? 

Chris Shepherd [22:58 - 23:35]: Sure. I'm no longer on the board of Central Florida Community Arts and I wasn't on the. I was on the board for a while, but that was after the choir started. But Central Florida Community Arts is a very well known organization in the Orlando area. It's a very large music organization that's pretty much known by people in the arts across the nation. And they have a page on their website called Musical Minds. I'm sure there would be someone there that would reach out to you. I'd be glad to, you know, people want to reach out to me, I'd be glad to reach out to them. If you want to put that information on the podcast, you know, I'd be glad to connect people with others that could help them. 

Darleen Mahoney [23:35 - 23:36]: Okay. 

Chris Shepherd [23:37 - 24:17]: You know, it's, it's, it's not a hard thing to pull off. You need some volunteers who are, who are warm and easy, you know, loving and care, you know, caring to welcome people when they come in and help them find their place. Need people to not be afraid to sing out, even if they're not worried about their voice. You need to just help people feel comfortable. But if you have that and you do some research on the demographic that's there, the eighth generation and what the favorite hits were, you know, you're going to hit it. It's going to be, it's going to be a great, great experience. It takes commitment on the volunteer's part. To play a part of it takes commitment, but it's a fantastic thing. But again, you don't even need to have that to connect with people through this music. 

Darleen Mahoney [24:18 - 24:53]: No, I love that. I feel like it's just connecting with the right people, organizing yourself a little bit. It's clearly not something that's fancy. And I think clearly senior living communities can do that as well. They can organize their residents and their families as well. To join in and make it, you know, a community activity with family members, I think is an incredible experience, because I don't know that you always get that. I think it's, you know, a lot of times more of the residents and then the family members come and visit versus something that they can, you know, an activity that they can actually do together on a regular basis. 

Chris Shepherd [24:53 - 25:37]: Absolutely. And to be able to do that activity together. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. You know, think about it. When someone has late stages, eating becomes a real difficult task, even in mid stages sometimes because of the coordination, you know, because dementia affects our eye, hand coordination, everything. We all know this. So it can become a challenge for the family to go during that time. It hurts. It's hard, but you want to be there. But if you have something that you can do that isn't like that, it's about something that you can share together, that's a win, win, you know, that's, that's, that's a win for the person with the dementia, and it's a win for the person who loves them. 

Darleen Mahoney [25:38 - 27:17]: Yeah. You know, my dad had dementia, and a lot of our listeners know that because I do talk about it quite often. And my dad really wasn't diagnosed for very long before he passed away. He was 72, so he was fairly young. But his mobility was one of his biggest downfalls with dementia. He started having, like, some issues with mobility on being able to get around. Then he started. He started babying his arm like he had a little broken wing, and still that's what it was. There was no damage or anything to his arm. But then he stopped being able to swallow. That was really where it really started affecting him. He wasn't able to eat, he couldn't swallow. And that really was more of an issue than the memory. He definitely had a lot of memory issues, but that wasn't as bad as what was happening with him on the physical side. But one of the things with me is he was not a social butterfly even, you know, in his 20s and 30s. He's just not a real social person. But going into, you know, an environment that was not a home environment, when he started needing that additional level of care, he really didn't socialize. But when they did turn music on, there was a lady at his community that played piano. She would go sit at the piano and play. I think she played. She played professionally at some point in her life. So she'd get on there and play and I would see my dad stand up and move. 

Chris Shepherd [27:18 - 27:18]: I believe it. 

Darleen Mahoney [27:18 - 27:19]: So. 

Chris Shepherd [27:19 - 27:23]: Yeah, I believe it. I've seen that happen so many times. Amazing. 

Darleen Mahoney [27:23 - 28:05]: Yeah, yeah. And it would make me so happy to see him engage in something other than, you know, because he was one that he just wanted to watch television and honestly, he really didn't care what was on. And then he. It would. He would get frustrated because he didn't know how to change the channels and then he'd start trying to change them on the television and then he changed all the settings. And so it became something that we worked with consistently on the television side, but that's really where he wanted to be. And I'm sure it was just. Because it was just easy. So. Yeah, for sure. I love all of this. Thank you for sharing all of this information with us. I know that we're going to be sharing that link to. 

Chris Shepherd [28:09 - 28:12]: Central Florida Community Arts. Their musical minds. 

Darleen Mahoney [28:12 - 29:02]: Central Florida. Okay. Yes. So we're going to share that link in all the apps. So anybody that's listening, they can, you can click on that, check it out. But you can create your own, your own in your own area. It just takes a little bit of work. But if you need it and it's something that you know you can't create or something that maybe you're overwhelmed and you're taking care of your own loved one, maybe reaching out to communities or a senior center or something like that and finding out if that's something they'd be interested in creating or maybe it's something that they already have. But music, I know, is something that is acknowledged with people that do take care of folks with dementia and Alzheimer's. So hopefully there's resource in your area that can really point you in a good direction. 

Chris Shepherd [29:02 - 29:08]: Definitely. And I think there will be for almost everyone. I'd be shocked if there wasn't. So. That's a great word. 

Darleen Mahoney [29:08 - 29:36]: Yeah, I agree. So one thing I did want to touch on before we log off on this podcast. Chris, you work for something that's very unique. I think you work for a company called One Senior Place. I, you know, I call our website seniorlivingguide.com like One Stop Shop Online for senior living, communities and home healthcare and some different resources. Yours is like a physical One Stop Shop. 

Chris Shepherd [29:36 - 30:31]: Yes, it is. It's a great concept. I love working here. I've been part of a resident business here for 12 years prior to two different businesses. We have about 100 events a month. We have 60 businesses that are associated with us right now, and those businesses are the ones that bring the events. So we're connecting businesses with businesses that serve seniors, 55 plus. And we're connecting those businesses also with the greater Orlando area. And it's amazing. We're not a senior center because we're different in that we. All of our events in some way are tied to education. Even if they're a little. They're fun focused, they're still education. A lot of them are education, but they meet seniors questions and needs wherever they might be. So the musical minds choir, there are two in Orlando. One of them meets here. So that's a. I get to still have that connection every week, that little fix, and it gives me a big bump for the week. 

Darleen Mahoney [30:31 - 30:38]: Yeah, absolutely. But a senior can walk into your location and find all kinds of different resources right at their fingertips as well. 

Chris Shepherd [30:38 - 30:55]: Absolutely. Or their family can. You know, it's just amazing because, you know, there's so many questions about aging as you. As things occur, as crises occur, and sometimes you just want a place where you can have a connection to be prepared for the future and enjoy it along the way. So it's a great resource for the area. 

Darleen Mahoney [30:55 - 31:06]: Yeah, absolutely. Well, we appreciate everything that you do over there at one senior place. And that particular location, you're located in Altamonte Springs in the central Florida Orlando area. 

Chris Shepherd [31:06 - 31:10]: Yes, absolutely. And then we have another location in Brevard county in Viera, which is just right by Melbourne. 

Darleen Mahoney [31:11 - 31:15]: Yep, Absolutely. I've been to that one as well, because that's actually located in my neck of the woods. 

Chris Shepherd [31:15 - 31:16]: Okay. All right. 

Darleen Mahoney [31:17 - 31:23]: So, yeah. Yeah. Well, is there anything else you want to add before we sign off on the podcast? 

Chris Shepherd [31:24 - 31:39]: Darlene, I really appreciate this opportunity, and, you know, if you want to, anybody can reach out to me if they have questions. I'll be glad to help them think about this and help them navigate the journey as much as I possibly can, because the power of music for everyone is incredible, especially those with memory loss. 

Darleen Mahoney [31:40 - 31:46]: Yeah. One thing that you have said is make a joyful noise and find that connection. 

Chris Shepherd [31:46 - 31:50]: Absolutely. That's what it's about. I can't sing worth a darn, but I can make a joyful noise. 

Darleen Mahoney [31:51 - 31:54]: I can sing very well in my car and in my shower. 

Chris Shepherd [31:56 - 31:58]: My kids tell me not to sing in the shower. 

Darleen Mahoney [32:01 - 32:03]: As I've gotten older, I no longer care. 

Chris Shepherd [32:04 - 32:08]: I don't either. I just like to do it. Yeah. 

Darleen Mahoney [32:08 - 32:12]: Yeah. I just turn it up enough to where I drown myself out. So. 

Chris Shepherd [32:14 - 32:16]: Thank you so much for this opportunity. 

Darleen Mahoney [32:17 - 32:37]: Thank you so much for this opportunity as well to have you on the podcast. And if you're listening and you enjoy this podcast, please check us out. We have over 100 podcasts to choose from. We are in season five and we can be listened anywhere you enjoy music such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Good podcast and many, many more. Thanks for listening.