By Kelly de la Rocha, founder of poem RENOVATION
I came to the United Church Homes Entrepreneur in Residence program with carefully-cut-out word blocks and a whole lot of questions.
I left with knowledge that will pave my path forward.
I’m Kelly de la Rocha, a poet, journalist and founder of poem RENOVATION, an arts-based word challenge.
How poem RENOVATION works
poem RENOVATION looks and functions like a word game. But this simple act of rule-free wordplay is much more than that. It boosts mental acuity and sparks joy for individuals with a wide range of abilities, including those who live with memory impairments.
Every day, poemrenovation.com offers a scrambled snippet of literature for users to rearrange into a unique creation. There are no rules. The sole objective is to create.
Accessible in both digital and print formats, the platform is used in schools and continuing care communities, as well as by individuals seeking a creative outlet.
Since its launch in 2022 as an educational tool, poem RENOVATION has grown into a resource for social-emotional health and healing through language. Ad-free and open to all, it presently relies on donations and grants to sustain its mission. A subscription-based version is slated to be released in late fall.
Bringing Wordplay to Continuing Care Communities
Last summer, poem RENOVATION completed a successful beta test in United Church Homes continuing care communities across Ohio. In April, I furthered that research during UCH’s two-week-long Entrepreneur in Residence program.
I spent those two weeks in Marietta, Ohio, shadowing UCH staff and hosting poem RENOVATION workshops for community members in Glenwood’s independent living space, and in The Pines, its assisted living community. I also hosted workshops for those living in the memory care and assisted living communities at nearby Harmar Place.
I came to the Entrepreneur in Residence program with specific questions about font size, subject matter and emojis.
I left with understanding.
I had the luxury of time to sit with community members and learn about their frustrations and hopes, their sadnesses and physical limitations, as well as the things that make them laugh. I was treated to tales about past professions, favorite hobbies and grown children. Sometimes we chatted over a meal, other times, beside a jigsaw puzzle in progress.
I was especially delighted to see how people opened up while creating with poem RENOVATION. Benefits beyond simple story-sharing made themselves known as well.
Some examples:
Meet Marlene
Marlene, a member of Harmar Place’s memory care community, spends much of her time sleeping and doesn’t often participate in group activities. The staff were delighted when she decided to try poem RENOVATION.
Rev. Patricia Vargas, the chaplain there, said she has never seen Marlene more engaged than she was while participating in the arts-based word challenge.
Marlene initially categorized the word blocks by color and became frustrated when she couldn’t derive meaning from them. When encouraged to try joining words of different colors, she reluctantly agreed. Within minutes, inspiration kicked in and along with it, her smile.
Phrases came together: “The fragrance of many ingredients.” “Working fingers were memories.”
She worked with the words for almost an hour-and-a-half, long after other workshop participants had departed. She was so pleased with the finished product she requested a piece of paper and a pen so she could write it down and save it.
Meet Mable
Mable’s hand shook when she tried to move poem RENOVATION word blocks around on the table. 
The Harmar Place community member struggles to keep her head up straight, so it was difficult to read the words, too. But once she and I teamed up, collaborative wordplay led to hilarity. We rearranged the words until we devised a featherless bird. The thought of such a thing got Mable giggling. Soon, other workshop participants were laughing too.
“I’ve got tears in my eyes,” Mable said, still chuckling. “I haven’t laughed in such a long time.”
Meet Wanda
Wanda has a smile at least a mile wide. A community member at The Pines, she adds brightness to every gathering. I felt lucky to have her attend all three of the poem RENOVATION workshops I held there. During one of them, she chose a word block collection with a “memories” theme. After rearranging the words for a few minutes, she shared this phrase:
“There, old friendships and memories of fragrance, ingredients.”
I asked if she had a memory associated with a certain fragrance.
“Yes, but it’s sad,” she replied, a faraway look in her eyes. “It’s the memory of my husband’s cologne. Sometimes I still sprinkle it on my pillow.”
Her smile reappeared when another memory came to mind: the heavenly smell that filled the kitchen in her childhood home when her mother baked cookies.
Wanda has a smile at least a mile wide, and a husband she misses very much, and happy memories of a mom who baked for her. I know Wanda a little bit better now. poem RENOVATION opened that door.
Meet Mel
Mel, an Army veteran, retired engineer and member of Glenwood’s independent living community, thought about writing a book when he
got out of the service.
It just never happened, he recalled, sounding wistful.
He sought me out on my first day as entrepreneur in residence, holding a printout of a magazine feature about poem RENOVATION. He was intrigued and eager to learn to use the digital version.
Turns out it was just the creative outlet he’d been looking for.
“It is now part of my morning routine,” he said a week later, showing off the growing collection of poems he’s archived on his smartphone. “I’m hooked.”
He described poem RENOVATION as a digital Etch A Sketch.
“It gives me the opportunity to be creative in an area that was either repressed or that I ignored,” he explained.
Who knows? Maybe poem RENOVATION will be a springboard for that novel Mel’s always wanted to write. I’ll be first in line to get an autographed copy.
Painting + Poetry
Another success story from my time as an entrepreneur in residence was a day of collaboration with Opening Minds Through Art, an award-winning, evidence-based, intergenerational art-making program for people living with dementia. Both OMA and poem RENOVATION offer rule-free forms of self expression.
OMA’s Executive Director, Amy Elliot, and I joined forces with Rev. Vargas to provide workshops at The Pines and Harmar Place. Participants created unique poems or phrases using words from a familiar song, then painted a picture and incorporated their words into the final design.
Offering two modes of rule-free self expression in a single workshop was a complete hit. Everyone left with meaningful, beautiful creations.
I came to UCH’s Entrepreneur in Residence program not sure what to expect.
I left with a greater understanding of the people I intend to serve and with a whole lot of inspiration, too.
I’m grateful.