Silver Memories across Queensland
- 17 Aug 2015
In 2013, Gary Thorpe from 4MBS wrote about the benefits of Silver Memories program. Two years on Gary talks about the changes that have been occurring with Silver Memories and how they will be marking Seniors Week
Since 2013 when the previous blog about Silver Memories appeared, this unique nostalgia radio service for aged care homes has taken a giant leap forward.
Silver Memories was started in Brisbane in 2008 to provide appropriate entertainment 24 hours a day for the aged. The programs feature music of the 1920s to the 1950s, old radio serials, features on past stars of stage and screen. The announcers send birthday greetings and cheerio calls. The concept of Silver Memories is based on Reminiscence Therapy and it has been shown to improve wellbeing and to address some of the effects of dementia such as anxiety and agitation.
In 2013, we intended streaming Silver Memories over the internet. But after testing internet speeds in regional Queensland we decided to use satellite. With the financial support of the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation we secured a channel on the VAST satellite – it gives us excellent coverage of Queensland and indeed the whole of Australia.
Since the middle of 2014, fifty aged care homes throughout Queensland have installed the Silver Memories service. Philanthropic funding has played a significant role – the John Villiers Trust funded the satellite dishes and receiver units for 13 aged care homes in Rockhampton and Yeppoon.
After being installed in a home in Rockhampton we received an email saying that Silver Memories had already made a difference to the residents in the dementia wing.
Support has also been received from the Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation, the Buderim Foundation, the Foundation for Regional Renewal and the Queensland Gas Corporation. Both Federal and State governments have recognised the value of Silver Memories – the Department of Social Services and Arts Queensland through the Arts Business Innovation Fund have provided strong support in 2015. We aim to have 200 homes connected over the next two years.
Feedback in the last year has resulted in some new programs – a singalong session and a hymn program on Sundays. We are finding that Silver Memories becomes a part of the daily lives of the listeners, providing companionship, appropriate entertainment and a non-pharmacological approach to managing anxiety and agitation.
What has also emerged is the need to educate the younger staff of aged care homes about the music and entertainment that is meaningful to the residents. It is this music that encourages reminiscence, opening a channel of communication for the staff with the residents, particularly those living with dementia.
So we are developing a Silver Memories Activity Kit. With support from donors who attended The Funding Network’s inaugural event in Brisbane we will be able to put the kit online, making it easier to update and distribute to aged care staff.
On Silver Memories, every week is seniors week but for the official Seniors Week 2015 Silver Memories is highlighting some great seniors of the past and present – musicians, composers, actors, writers, leaders in public life and more. It will be a celebration of the wisdom gained during a long life and a fitting tribute from Silver Memories.
Gary Thorpe OAM has been the General Manager of Brisbane’s classical music station, 4MBS Classic FM, since 1989. He has been involved with 4MBS Classic FM since 1979 when the station first went to air. In his role as General Manager, Gary also manages 4MBS’s digital channel MBS Light and its nostalgia channel Silver Memories. In 2004 4MBS Classic FM was named Australia’s Community Radio Station of the Year – the only classical music station ever to win this award. Gary is passionate about supporting Queensland talent – starting the annual 4MBS Festival of Classics in 1994 – it features local classical musicians and is the largest classical music festival in Australia. Gary created the annual 4MBS Brisbane Shakespeare Festival 9 years ago to provide employment and performance opportunities for local professional actors, directors and arts workers. In 2009, Gary was awarded an OAM for services to broadcasting and music and in 2011 a Churchill Fellowship to research the use of music in the management of dementia.
Feature image: Group of friends gathered around a radio in Brisbane, ca.1942. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Record Number: 105248
**Editor’s note –Since the publication of the post, Silver Memories has been nominated for International Dementia Awards 2015 in the Arts and Dementia Category. Information about the award can be found at International Dementia Awards.