Wellspring Lutheran Services Real People Real Hope

What happens when you find yourself having to care for an aging parent/loved one while at the same time, raising your own children and family at home? We call this the sandwich generation, when you are effectively "sandwiched" between these two generations.
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On this episode of Real People Real Hope, we talk with Laura Thomas who spent many years caring for not only her parents, but also her husband’s parents. With young children of their own at the time, how did Laura, her husband and children make it work? What kind of conversations did they have with their parents, with their children and with other family? What support is out there for people who find themselves in this same situation?

On this episode of Real People, Real Hope we introduce you to Wellspring's Camp Hope - a free grief camp for kids supported 100% from generous donors.

The grieving process is hard enough as an adult, but imagine what it’s like for a 12-year-old who’s just lost his mom to cancer. Knowing what to say and do – or feel – is so hard. It may seem almost easier to feel lost and alone.

But that’s not healthy for anyone. That’s when Camp Hope steps in.

Camp Hope is a three-day camp designed to help children and teenagers, ages 6-17, learn how to grieve. Camp Hope provides a safe place for children and teens to interact with peers who have experienced similar losses. Campers can express their feelings of grief, learn coping skills and most importantly, begin a healthy healing process.

“Happy 40th Birthday! You’re now over the hill.”

It seems “normal” to read this phrase, doesn’t it? In fact, we have all said things like this without realizing that it promotes ageism. Ageism is the stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination against people on the basis of their age.

On this episode of Real People, Real Hope we have the privilege of speaking with Katie Smith-Sloan, the president and CEO of LeadingAge and executive director of the Global Ageing Network, about this very topic. Katie is a dear friend of Wellspring, and a national thought leader and advocate for aging services and innovation. She travels the country bringing light to ageism.

After hearing from Katie, it will certainly open your eyes to some of the ways we are adding to this dialogue without even knowing. Katie also shares her own story of why this work is so personal to her. This is a subject that unfortunately can easily be dismissed, but its impact is greater than you know.

Tune in and educate yourself. It will certainly change the way you think!

This is a first for us! On this episode of Real People, Real Hope you will hear part two of our interview with Family Services Division Director, Jason Sroufe.

When it comes to our work with families there is a lot to talk about! Jason spends time with Dave and Sean sharing real-life stories of families we have served. I hope you are as inspired as we were hearing about the incredible work that is being done in more than 40 counties throughout Michigan.

On this episode of Real People, Real Hope, you will hear from our Family Services Division Director, Jason Sroufe. The concept of family is something we can all relate to on many different levels. We all struggle as families from time-to-time, and so we sit down with Jason to talk about how Wellspring supports families through some of life’s biggest challenges.

This episode will have you laughing, crying and everything in between. Wellspring is the largest provider of family preservations services in the state of Michigan, serving families in more than 40 of Michigan’s 83 counties.

On this episode of Real People, Real Hope, you will hear from Chris Reed and Leonica Erwin. These two staff members are from different parts of the state and do very different work. However, there is one thing that unites them -- and really all of our staff: their belief that together we can change lives, strengthen families and transform communities.

Dave and Sean dive deeper into their stories, and we get an inside look at Chris' and Leonica's roles at Wellspring. And we also hear what makes them stay with our statewide nonprofit. We were so blessed to have this time with them, and we think you will be encouraged to hear more about what makes Wellspring different when it comes to the way we care for our employees.