Burnaby Dementia Friends Cafe
Date: Last Thursday of Month in Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec 2023
Time: 12:00-2:00pm
Location: South Burnaby Neighbourhood House, 4460 Beresford Street
Registration: Mandatory
To register, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 604-375-5778
For individuals interested in attending the café or seeking more information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 604-375-5778. As we have a limited capacity, we encourage prompt registration to secure a spot.
Burnaby Seniors Outreach Services Society presents
Dementia Friendly Cafe
An online gathering of community - for seniors, those with memory loss, and their family and friend caregivers.
Date and Time: 2nd Thursday of Each Month, 1:00-2:30pm
Place: 2055 Rosser Ave, Burnaby (Now in-person!)
Participants engage in socializing and facilitated discussion on topics led by guest speakers and a certified music therapist.
Caregiver Support Group Drop-In Program
This program is open to anyone who is an Unpaid Caregiver or anyone who is supporting an Unpaid Caregiver. Drop-in, listen and share your experiences in a safe and confidential environment. Learn from others who find themselves in a similar situation. These support drop-in groups are facilitated by a member of our professional staff or well-trained senior peer support volunteers.
All of our sessions are held at Burnaby Community Services, located at 2055 Rosser Avenue in Burnaby.
Caregiver Support Group Drop-In Program 2021
Monday Group meets on the 2nd and last Monday evenings from 6:00pm to 8:00pm
(there will not be a support group program on the second Monday of May and June)
Saturday Group meets on the last Saturday of each month from 10:00am-12:00pm
A Poem to Share: The New Dementians
Creative expressions such as music and poetry help us cope with and manage through the shifts of this global pandemic. At BSOSS, our community programs continue through Zoom, offering opportunities to come together to learn and share with one another. In recent weeks one of our program participants felt inspired to write down his thoughts and feelings about some of the shifts, and he created this beautiful poem titled 'The New Dementians', which we have the honour and consent to share with our wider communities.
Jennyfer Hatch
Artistic Director
The New Dementians and Music Therapist with BSOSS
The New Dementians
The 2019 Dementia Friendly Café laid the foundation.
The monthly popular activity sparked the inspiration.
During the café Jennyfer led us to joyful singing.
With the beat our bodies couldn’t help swinging.
Dorothy joined force with her and two heads were better than one.
A brilliant idea of creating a special choir for us was quickly done.
The pioneer project was so outstanding in so many ways.
Necessary funding was smoothly secured in a few days.
The putting together of the choir itself was not too hard.
We were not good singers but we all wanted to take part.
Our first rehearsal happened at the end of November.
It was so successful that we would forever remember.
We chatted, snacked and then sang our songs.
We immediately found a place where we belong.
We frequently shared our gladness.
We occasionally shared our sadness.
Unfortunately in March 2020 the pandemic hit.
The whole world seemed to fall into a deep pit.
Dorothy and Jennyfer tried hard to put us on virtual meetings.
That was the only new normal option to continue our greetings.
Now we can still reach out.
That is all a family is about.
We connect through our songs
It helps all of us to stay strong.
Though we are far apart
We can share our hearts.
Later in the year, for her family, Dorothy quit.
Faryar stepped up and proved to be a good fit.
In 2021, vaccination started at the beginning of the year.
We all hope that a return to normal process is put in gear.
One day when we can in person meet again,
We will see sunshine after the miserable rain.
When we chat, sing and bite on a snack,
Our intimate bonds will surely come back.