On Wednesday, Aviva Valparaiso residents went out for lunch at Culver’s and went thrift shopping at AbleLight Thrift Shop. It is a part of the weekly outings that the retirement community does.
“Every week, on our assisted living side of the building, we choose a place to eat up and go shopping,” said Kathryn Koenig, lifestyles enrichment director for Aviva Valparaiso. Today, it is Culver’s and then we're going to go over to AbleLight Thrift Shop. Some weeks we'll go out of the Valpo area to Portage or Chesterton.”
The places that Aviva Valparaiso goes to are chosen by the residents, who get to have requests for where they go. After eating at Culver’s, the outing continued on to Able Light Thrift Store for some shopping. Residents got necklaces, earrings, and other items from the store.
“We include our residents' suggestions and ideas,” said Koenig. “If they have something they want to do, then we try to make it happen. It can be something they haven't been able to go golfing in a while then maybe we can figure out how to do a small golfing event in the community.”
For the community, Culver’s is a popular option for an outing.
“Culver’s is a popular one,” said Koenig. “We come to Culver’s once every two months because it has good food and has enough seating for our group.”
Culver’s and the other places that Aviva Valparaiso visited are helpful to the community.
“Every place that we have visited has been very helpful, whether it's ensuring we get a good spot to sit, or making sure we know at the store where we can find things,” said Koenig. “We visited Alley Kat’s Curiosity Shoppe the other week, and they were very helpful in bringing things down from their second floor. Everywhere we've gone the community has been very generous to us.”
Getting out into the community is also important for the residents’ well-being. It provides a break in daily routines that can get monotonous for the residents.
“Nobody wants to feel like they live in a prison,” said Koenig. “We want to make sure we get to enjoy our lives even if we have issues. We want to encourage everybody to live their best life, and one of the ways we do that is by providing these outings. We also do other trips, whether it is a casino trip or a drive up to the Indiana Dunes.”
These outings are planned out a month ahead of the day of the event.
“A lot of thought and pre-planning has to go into making the outings,” said Koenig. “We have to call places to make sure that they have either wheelchair access or other accessible options. You're always double checking and making sure that everybody that you think might want to go is capable of going in and adjusting. Things are constantly changing. You don't want to sit around and stare at the TV all day.”
Aviva Valparaiso is a retirement community that provides assisted living, memory care, and other services. For more information, visit Aviva Valparaiso’s website at avivavalparaiso.com.