When LaTanya Owens began caring for her mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 62, (Her mother is now 73) she encountered several challenges while searching for appropriate care.
Over the years, Owens balanced caregiving and family responsibilities while maintaining her career as a special education teacher and assistant principal with Chicago Public Schools.
Hiring a home care aide initially appeared to be a viable option, but Owens found that in-home services could quickly become costly. Finding someone she trusted to care for her mother while she worked also proved difficult.
As her mother’s condition progressed and she required more assistance with activities of daily living. Owens began receiving calls from staff at her mother’s care center asking how they should assist her, even after assessments had been completed. She was also asked to leave work early to pick up her mother or consider placing her in a nursing home.
The experience led Owens to ask a question shared by many caregivers: What options are available to families who need professional support but are not ready to place their loved ones in a nursing facility?
“That’s when the light bulb went off,” Owens said. “Not everyone wants to place their loved one in a nursing facility. Why can’t I get the services I need and bring her home?”
That question became the foundation for Teresa’s Place Adult Day Center, a program in development that will support adults living with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other cognitive impairments.
Supporting Caregivers and Families
Owens believes caring for older adults also requires supporting their caregivers. Many family caregivers experience emotional, physical, and financial strain while balancing employment, children, and other responsibilities.
To connect caregivers and families with assistance, Teresa’s Place will host its first annual Caregiver Community Wellness and Resource Fair on Saturday, Aug. 15.
The free event will focus on eight dimensions of wellness and bring together 19 vendors offering information related to health, finances, caregiving, senior services and other community resources.
Participating organizations are expected to include BMO, The Leaders Bank, Gift of Hope, DuPage County Senior Services, the Alzheimer’s Association, Angels Home Healthcare, Sahara Asian Elderly Care, Hope Therapy, Guest House and other community partners.
Representatives will discuss topics such as financial fraud targeting older adults and the different stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
The fair will also include caregiver baskets, gift cards, giveaways, and other resources. Owens is working with home care organizations to secure donated respite-care hours for caregivers and with chefs who may provide meals for caregiving families.
“As a caregiver, sometimes you just want some time. We are doing so many things, and we want everyone to come out and get what they need.”
Owens also acknowledged Illinois Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, State Rep. Camille Lilly and State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford for supporting Teresa’s Place and its mission.
Although the Caregiver Community Wellness Fair will take place on Aug. 15, Teresa’s Place Adult Daycare Center is still in the infrastructure stage. The location will be at 931 N. Main St. in Glen Ellyn; the center is expected to open in spring 2027 or by summer 2027 at the latest.
Focusing on Individual Abilities
Owens began researching adult day care and senior services in January 2025. She spoke with caregivers, surveyed families and visited adult day centers, memory care programs, nursing facilities and home care agencies.
Through that research, she identified what she believes is a gap between socially focused adult day programs and the individualized assistance needed by people in the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Teresa’s Place will use a person-centered approach built around each participant’s abilities, and changing needs.
“We’re going to focus on what they can do, not what they cannot do,” Owens said.
Her background in special education helped shape that vision. As an educator, Owens worked with teams to assess students’ needs, develop individualized plans, and adjust those plans as students progressed. She believes a similar process can benefit older adults experiencing cognitive decline.
“You have to bring everyone to the table to discuss what they are doing, where they are, and how we can accommodate them; not every person with dementia or Alzheimer’s is the same.”
Under the proposed model, families and care professionals would regularly reassess participants and revise their care plans as their functional needs change.
She wants Teresa’s Place to support adults who may qualify for institutional care, but whose families would prefer to keep them at home. The center would also provide working caregivers with a safe place to bring their loved ones during the day.
“This would keep people in the workforce and could prevent early institutionalization. We want to sit with families, come back to the table quarterly and discuss where their loved one is.”
Calling for Greater Accountability
Beyond opening the center, Owens hopes to help establish stronger accountability and assessment standards across the adult care system.
Owens hopes the approach can eventually expand throughout Illinois and across the country.
“Let’s show more grace, more love, more positivity and better care for those who took care of us,” Owens said. “Bring everyone to the table and make it a little easier for the family as a whole because everyone is affected.”
She believes families should not have to choose between leaving the workforce, paying for costly in-home services, or placing their loved ones in nursing facilities before they feel ready.
Owens also wants society to remember that aging is an experience nearly everyone will face.
“One day, it’s going to be us,” she said. “Take care of who took care of you.”
Although it has been difficult for Owens to witness the changes in her once highly active mother, she considers caring for Teresa and creating Teresa’s Place Adult Daycare Center in her honor part of her life’s purpose.
“My mom is still here. God blessed the journey. It wasn’t easy, but it was the path I was supposed to take, and I don’t regret it,” said Owens.
The first annual Community Wellness and Resource Fair will take place Saturday, Aug. 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lombard Community Center, 433 E. St. Charles Road in Lombard. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information about the developing center and its programs, visit Teresa’s Place Adult Daycare Center.
