Turning Institute

The mission of the Turning Institute is to be ‘turning’ our experiences as family caregivers into healthful support for current and future caregivers. We provide wellness-oriented art and music experiences for people living with illness, and their caregivers. This might be by playing or leading music/arts experiences ourselves, or facilitating caregivers’ participation in existing arts opportunities. “Caregivers” is thought of broadly to include in-home and community caregivers, family and extended family, educators, and health professionals. We sponsor “Caregiver Renewal Day”, a half-day workshop for caregivers to gather, make friends on the basis of their common caregiving roles, relax through
arts (music, drawing, poetry) and practice of self-care strategies (breathing, singing, laughter, massage, healthy eating, connecting to nature.)

We coach artists/performers who are working with people aging or living with disabilities, to provide uplifting experiences– connecting art, wellness, neuroscience, nature, and community-building. Our audiences/participants may be people of any age, including children and youth. A second service we provide is assessing with individual family caregivers their roles and stresses as caregivers, and providing resources/contacts that can help them make their caregiving lives sustainable. Third, we help people living with illness to take advantage of existing resources in their communities — e.g. events in parks, community centers, or arts venues— by arranging transportation,
attending as a companion, or raising funds to purchase tickets for people who might not otherwise
be able to attend.