Richmond based Art for the Journey, a non-profit organization is one of four training centers in the U.S.A. and Canada for the “Opening Minds through Art” program designed to help people with dementia, in partnership with Scripps Gerontology Center and the OMA Founder, Dr. Elizabeth Lokon.
To date, more than eighty individuals have been certified by Art for the Journey to implement the “OMA” program in assisted living and nursing home facilities across the nation.
Our goal at Art for the Journey is to help expand the award-winning OMA program….
The Opening Minds through Art program is an innovative, empirical, inter-generational and person centered, abstract art program that has been successfully implemented in many A.L. facilities across the nation and Canada.
“Our goal at Art for the Journey is to help expand the award-winning OMA program to create increased community engagement and to help provide well-being, and joyful positive results that affect the elder, the caregiver, the volunteer, and the staff in facilities across the Commonwealth.” ~ Cindy Paullin, Executive Director
The next online OMA Facilitator training begins on February 10th, 2020. The Richmond, Virginia practicum will be held at Saint Mary’s Woods Retirement Community on March 19th and 20th, 2020. Register today and prepare to implement the award-winning OMA program in a facility at your location. Your efforts will exponentially affect others and the result will be colorful and amazing! visit www.scrippsoma.org for more information about OMA, and find the registration link in “Facilitator training” – Hybrid course. Contact cindy@artforthejourney.org for more information.
Student volunteers make the OMA program a robust and amazing success. Pictured above are two pairs from the recent session, VCU student, Sydney White is interviewed with her elder partner Bill by the local TV 12 station. The other pair shows us the typical level of enjoyment found in OMA pairs! Student and community volunteers are paired with an elder for a ten week session, and during this time, the weekly meeting turns the pairs into fast friends. The quote below is from a student at VCU who paired with an elder Fall of 2020 at Saint Mary’s Woods:
“OMA has been the highlight of my Fridays for the last few months. The time I’ve spent with my OMA partner is some of the loveliest human connection I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing, all though the conduit of beautiful artwork!”