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“Coffee, Cookies and Caregivers” is a series of monthly meetings being held at assisted living centers throughout the area to help adults navigate the often difficult waters of caring for their parents in their senior years.

The non-profit network is an offshoot of the American Association of Wartime Veterans, but volunteer Shelley Vitale said that the CCC Network exists as its own entity to help the rising population of adults caring their aged parents.

“When it hits a family, you are scrambling to get information, bank account numbers, emergency contacts and health information and, unfortunately, you get a lot of contradictory information,” Vitale said. “This kind of proactive approach really helps you because we have experts who come in and speak and we give people a chance to talk to others who have been in their situation.”

On Aug. 4, the CCC Network will host a meeting at the Sunrise Assisted Living complex in Shelby Township from 7-9 p.m. The meeting will include the requisite coffee and cookies, but also a discussion on recognizing signs of depressions in seniors, hosted by gerontologist Marcia Relyea.

“When you’re dealing with seniors, you don’t know if they’re depressed because they’ve had a bad day, because of medical issues or because some medication can cause depression,” Vitale said. “There’s a whole list of things it could possibly be and we’re going to be bringing in an expert to talk about it and answer questions that people may have.”

Vitale said the meetings offer answers to the many questions that people might have about caring for aging parents, but it also provides a group of friends to rally around for support.

“It really is kind of a support group,” she said. “Our hope is that people will build friendships through this and we already have begun to see that.”

The group’s first meeting was held in late June in Sterling Heights. Vitale said nearly 50 people attended the event and have already been asking questions about the next meeting.

“We have a list of literally hundreds of issues facing people when this happens,” she said. “There are all sorts of medical and financial issues to deal with. We offer help for the caregiver and help for the family. It also gives people the chance to come in and see what assisted living centers are like and know that if they do have family members there, they are in good hands.”

Vitale also said that the group works because of the personal care that each CCC volunteer brings to the meetings.

“Almost everyone in our company has gone through an issue like this, where we’ve had to deal with a parent who was aging,” she said. “At that time, you’re hit with a lot of issues and questions from all directions and there’s quite a lot that needs to be done. That’s what we’re here for.”

The Coffee, Cookies and Caregivers Network will meet Aug. 4 from 7-9 p.m. at Sunrise Assisted Living in Shelby Township to discuss the topic of depression in seniors. For more information, visit www.cccnetwork.net