A DAY WELL LIVED
Forster Woods Adult Day Center enriches the lives of its participants while offering meaningful purpose for workers and volunteers
Forster Woods Adult Day Center provides its participants (individuals with ranging disabilities and the elderly) an environment to thrive in during their everyday life, located in East Lansing, MI.
Father Ronald C. Byrd, Sr. at Saint Katherine’s Episcopal Church in Williamston, MI, launched the program out of the church 13 years ago. The location has now changed, but the lives being changed haven’t.
Current CEO, Jennifer Putmon, had the honor of starting at Forster Woods when it was just a concept, just an idea. 13 years later, she still can’t describe her work as anything other than amazing. “They [the participants]... they steal your heart and I can’t imagine ever doing anything else," said Putmon.
There are millions of adults living in America with disabilities who require ongoing assistance with daily activities. Adult care spaces like Forster Woods allow for these individuals to have enriched daily lives and provide the specialized care they may not have access to on a daily basis.
Father Ronald C. Byrd, Sr. at Saint Katherine’s Episcopal Church in Williamston, MI, launched the program out of the church 13 years ago. The location has now changed, but the lives being changed haven’t.
Current CEO, Jennifer Putmon, had the honor of starting at Forster Woods when it was just a concept, just an idea. 13 years later, she still can’t describe her work as anything other than amazing. “They [the participants]... they steal your heart and I can’t imagine ever doing anything else," said Putmon.
There are millions of adults living in America with disabilities who require ongoing assistance with daily activities. Adult care spaces like Forster Woods allow for these individuals to have enriched daily lives and provide the specialized care they may not have access to on a daily basis.
Reporter
Kira Gendjar
Photo
Jenna Peterman
Alexis Schmidt
Kira Gendjar
Stephanie Rauhe
Video
Alexis Schmidt
Video Editor
Brendan Kalscheur
Web Design
Stephanie Rauhe
Kira Gendjar
Photo
Jenna Peterman
Alexis Schmidt
Kira Gendjar
Stephanie Rauhe
Video
Alexis Schmidt
Video Editor
Brendan Kalscheur
Web Design
Stephanie Rauhe
"At some point in our lives, we'll either be a caregiver or need a caregiver."
-Jennifer Putmon, Forster Woods CEO
-Jennifer Putmon, Forster Woods CEO
Beyond receiving care, participants at Forster Woods are also cultivating meaningful relationships with the staff, volunteers, and each other. Through these relationships, they get to enjoy daily activities consisting of active games, cognitive puzzles, music activities, large-group motor games, and much more. “There’s always a wide variety of activities, so they can pick and choose what they’d like to do. And if they don’t want to do the activity that’s being offered, they can choose a different activity,” said Putmon.
A collection of photos of Forster Woods residents, taken on April 10, 2025.
(Photos by Alexis Schmidt)
(Photos by Alexis Schmidt)
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"Getting to see the smiles on people's faces is definitely really rewarding."
Interactive map of adult daycare centers in the state of Michigan.
(Designed by Kira Gendjar)
(Designed by Kira Gendjar)
Outside of daily activities, there are also therapy pets that come in a few times a month and a variety of special guests like magicians and musical performers. Last year, they even hosted a carnival for their participants– a favorite memory of Forster Woods’ Life Enrichment Coordinator, Elliana Diaz.
“We played games and did fun pictures. We dressed up for Halloween last year, everyone wore costumes or big blow-up costumes. Somebody brought in a dinosaur blow-up suit, it was really cool,” said Diaz. “Getting to see the smiles on people’s faces is definitely really rewarding.”
The employees and volunteers at Forster Woods work selflessly and hard to give the best experiences to their participants, and it doesn't go unnoticed. Humbly hanging in the office are letters of love and thanks from friends and families of participants. Silent accounts of lives positively changed through their care.
“We played games and did fun pictures. We dressed up for Halloween last year, everyone wore costumes or big blow-up costumes. Somebody brought in a dinosaur blow-up suit, it was really cool,” said Diaz. “Getting to see the smiles on people’s faces is definitely really rewarding.”
The employees and volunteers at Forster Woods work selflessly and hard to give the best experiences to their participants, and it doesn't go unnoticed. Humbly hanging in the office are letters of love and thanks from friends and families of participants. Silent accounts of lives positively changed through their care.
A volunteer sits with a resident at Forster Woods on March 25, 2025. Forster Woods relies on volunteers to assist residents through daily activities. (Photo by Alexis Schmidt)
Residents work to complete a puzzle Feb. 25, 2025 at Forster Woods, an adult care center in East Lansing, Mich. (Photo by Stephanie Rauhe)
Elliana Diaz, Life Enrichment Coordinator at Forster Woods, helps residents bake cupcakes on March 25, 2025. The care center does daily activities like baking to enrich the residents' lives and minds. (Photo by Jenna Peterman)
Tyler Chase, Life Enrichment assistant at Forster Woods, helps a resident eat lunch on Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Alexis Schmidt)
Elliana Diaz, Life Enrichment Coordinator, high-fives a resident at Forster Woods on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Jenna Peterman)
A resident shoots a basketball during a group game at Forster Woods on March 25, 2025. (Photo by Jenna Peterman)
A volunteer works to make sure a Forster Woods resident is comfortable before a group game Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Alexis Schmidt)
A Michigan State University nursing students hugs Vanessa, a resident at Forster Woods on March 25, 2025. MSU nursing students visit the care center several times a week. (Photo by Jenna Peterman)
Tyler Chase, Life Enrichment assistant at Forster Woods, interacts with a resident as they play a group game on Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Alexis Schmidt)
A resident at Forster Woods sleeps peacefully in her chair on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Jenna Peterman)
Life Enrichment assistant, Tyler Chase, has been working at Forster Woods for the past 7 months and shows up every working day ready to put smiles on faces, knowing that not everyone in the world would do the same. “People don’t really treat people who are disabled like humans at all. They treat them like their burdens,” said Chase. A lesson learned from first-hand accounts while caring for his Grandpa as a kid. He continued, saying, “It’s comforting coming to a job like this and knowing I can at least treat them human, and they’re getting some sort of respect.”
“We can tell you all about our program, we can send out a newsletter, we can put pictures on our Facebook page… but to really understand it, I think you need to come see it. It’s amazing watching our participants engage in different activities and just enjoying life. It’s…it’s kind of amazing to see. So, I encourage anybody to come out and take a tour,” said Putmon.
“We can tell you all about our program, we can send out a newsletter, we can put pictures on our Facebook page… but to really understand it, I think you need to come see it. It’s amazing watching our participants engage in different activities and just enjoying life. It’s…it’s kind of amazing to see. So, I encourage anybody to come out and take a tour,” said Putmon.
A 'Thank You' letter from a participants family hangs on display at Forster Woods on March 23, 2025.
(Photo by Kira Gendjar)
(Photo by Kira Gendjar)
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Sharing stories of care,
inspiration, and community.
inspiration, and community.
WHERE WE MEET is a multimedia project researched, pitched, produced, and distributed by the JRN 410: Advanced Photojournalism class at Michigan State University (MSU)—School of Journalism. After narrowing their story topic to third places, our visual journalists decided to document where the Lansing community builds safe spaces for people to discover common ground away from home.
