Every few months, Programs Assistant Tanya Kutukdjian will book Vrezh to come and play at Park Plaza Senior Apartments in North Hollywood, CA. He is absolutely delightful and JUST what the residents at Park Plaza respond to: he speaks their language, he knows their songs and he is able to – unlike anyone else – whip them into a frenzy of singing and dancing. He came out to do a Holiday Concert at Park Plaza.
TimeSlips Storytelling Event – reported by Tanya Kutukdjian, Programs Assistant:
Our TimeSlips group is continuing to grow and we are seeing great progress. We have new residents joining the group, some eager to share their stories, while others want to take it slow and just listen to others tell their stories. This month’s topic was about a surprise for the holidays.
One resident, Khatun (pictured on the far left), shared how her brother surprised her one Christmas when she was about 16 with a beautiful velvet dress that she had wanted. She said she really loved the dress but was hesitant to buy it because she thought it wouldn’t fit her. When she received the gift from her brother, she was so excited that she thought to herself, “This dress is so beautiful, even if it doesn’t fit me, I will make it work. I am not taking it back to the store!” She is still very fond of the dress, and so proud of its beauty, that she has kept it and she offered to bring it down to the community room to share with the group. These are the kinds of warm memories and feelings that are evoked during Timeslips.
This month’s Resident Spotlight is on Azniv (pictured below in blue). Azniv used to be a regular bingo player at Park Plaza, but then she disappeared for awhile. We did not cross paths for a long time. Occasionally I would catch her calling out my name and waving as I entered the building (she would spot me from her balcony on the second floor). However, no matter how hard I tried, I could not convince her to join us for a game. She said she did not want to be around anyone anymore.
To my delight, she appeared one day while we were having our Timeslips group and as we started to chat, she showed more and more interest in sharing her story. She began with responding to Sarah’s story prompt, which led into giving us much more. She was all smiles as she shared her stories and reconnected with fellow residents.
Shortly after this, I ran into her granddaughter, who told me that Azniv’s husband had passed away a year ago, and she had completely withdrawn since then. I showed her the pictures we had and the wonderful stories Azniv had shared with us, and her granddaughter was so happy to hear the progress her grandmother had made. She said she would continue to encourage her grandmother to attend and participate in our activities.
~ Elizabeth Sampson, Program Director
You might think that living in Southern California, our home base, means you don’t have to worry about cold weather safety, but that’s not true. We may be having daytime temperatures in the 80s, but nighttime temperatures are in the 50s, and that’s cool enough to affect you adversely if you’re not dressed properly and are outside for a long time. A loss of just a degree or two of normal body temperature can cause hypothermia, a potentially deadly condition. Getting caught unprepared in the rain and wind, turning down your heat to try to save money, overexerting in an air-conditioned gym, any number of factors can contribute to getting chilled to the point that it’s a health hazard. Read more 
Dr. Azita Nahai is a Kundalini Yogi, scholar, speaker and therapist. She is the founder of Trauma to Dharma™. Her professional and doctoral research over the past fifteen years has uncovered and supported the use of Kundalini yoga and meditation as a valuable therapeutic modality in trauma recovery, and a life tool set for personal growth and transformation. Through an integration of human development, neuropsychology, spirituality, and the science of yoga and meditation, Dr. Nahai specializes in a practical and holistic approach to navigating through life’s crises and disruptions.
A 16-year veteran of the LA Conservation Corps, Wendy A. Butts has been leading the organization as CEO since July 2014. Wendy’s interest in the environment and its impact on communities started in 1994 when she worked as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador. She planned community recycling projects, created an environmental club and educated middle school students in conservation-related studies in a rural coastal town. She began her career at the LA Conservation Corps in 1998 working directly with Corpsmembers, and training them in natural and urban environmental studies. She has served as Development Director and Program Development Director, procuring private and government funding for the Corps which led to a 15% growth in the annual budget in four years. Most recently, Wendy served as the Corps’ Contract Compliance Officer developing new systems for monitoring program quality and compliance with contracts. She developed best practices and trained corps across the nation in those same practices.
