How Peg Lahmeyer Built The ARK

As a working wife and mother of two teenagers and a toddler, Peg Lahmeyer had her hands full. To add to her plate, when her 90-year-old father passed away in 1990, she moved her mother, who two years prior had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, into the family home. Dedicated to her role as full-time caregiver, Lahmeyer often slept on the sofa to ensure her mother wouldn’t wander out of the house late at night, ultimately quitting her job to be a full-time caregiver.

On a mission to provide hope and relief to other families living with dementia, Lahmeyer partnered with St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Summerville, South Carolina, to start The ARK, a self-sustaining outreach program, to meet the growing need for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) support. In its inaugural year of 1996, The ARK served 13 families with ADRD.

The following year, The ARK launched a satellite respite day program in rural St. George, South Carolina, to serve families in the Dorchester, Colleton and Orangeburg counties. In 2004, The ARK received grant funding for a bus that enabled more participants to attend its respite programs in the Summerville area. 

By 2018, the congregation at St. Luke’s had grown and The ARK needed to find a new home to expand services and staff. Lahmeyer said the program was fortunate to have five local investors help acquire a charming 1940s house once built by Summerville’s late Mayor Berlin G. Meyers, which serves the needs of The ARK today.

In 2022, The ARK received grant funding and matching gifts to purchase a new van so that they could retire the nearly 20-year-old bus. Presently, The ARK operates a five-day-a-week program in Summerville with 10-12 participants per day and a one-day-a-week schedule in Harleyville with a maximum of 10 participants a day. 

The ARK offers extensive support and guidance through the Neighborhood Outreach Alzheimer’s Help project (NOAH). The program’s services include training staff and volunteers in dementia care techniques, sharing educational materials and educational opportunities for caregivers and volunteers, advising and counseling as needs grow, assisting with identifying community partners and interest groups, and assessing immediate and long-term needs. Additionally, the project promotes social respite, caregiver support and consultation, community education, and mentorship for underserved communities in Dorchester, Charleston, Berkeley, Orangeburg and Colleton counties. “We couldn’t have The ARK without NOAH steering the boat,” Lahmeyer says, adding, “We understand the stress that can come with being the caregiver for someone living with Alzheimer’s and we want them to know they are not alone.” 

Studies show that 40 percent of caregivers pass away before their loved ones because they are struggling to take care of their own needs as well as those of others. Although it can be hard to let go and leave the care in the hands of a stranger, it’s crucial that the caregiver puts their oxygen mask on first before taking care of others. It’s okay to take a break. The participants can come visit The ARK and stay to socialize with others. Caregivers can drop off and take a few hours a day for themselves, which can make a huge difference.

In addition to NOAH, The ARK’s menu of services includes a certified course through the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Bureau of Justice that is dedicated to providing public safety executives, law enforcement, firefighters, EMS and others from the first responder community with the most current Alzheimer’s and dementia training available. This no-cost Train the Trainer Program for Responding to Alzheimer’s Disease: Techniques for Law Enforcement and First Responders, provides participants with up-to-date knowledge of Alzheimer’s and dementia and teaches them how to interact with caregivers and people who have dementia. Once trained, officers are able to take the approved curriculum back to their departments and teach everyone on their team.

The ARK has worked with 28 different groups around the state, providing training and support, sharing advice and answering questions. To date, the nonprofit has served hundreds of families statewide, while also providing countless others across the country with access to information, referrals and free educational classes for caregivers as well as a Master Trainer program to teach professionals the curriculum.

“Because we are passionate about replicating this model, when we get requests from various communities, we encourage them to start their own programs by sharing our resources, teaching them how to onboard volunteers and write grants,” Lahmeyer explains. 

While The ARK was initially funded and is still supported by Brookdale National Group Respite Program, the nonprofit also hosts fundraising events each year. “Pull for The ARK” is a clay skeet shooting event with a Lowcountry Boil in October. For November’s National Caregiver Month, The ARK honors caregivers with a Retro Bash. In March, a car show sponsored by Palmetto Primary Care has over 200 vintage cars on display. In June, the golf tournament, sponsored by Argos Cement, benefits the Harleyville satellite program. The McElveen 26th Annual Race for the ARK in August typically draws 350-600 runners and walkers. Dancing with The ARK Stars, presented by Innovative Resource Management, is the big event in May which raises about a third of The ARK’s budget. 

At that event this year, the governor presented Lahmeyer with the state’s most prestigious civilian award, the Order of the Palmetto, given to South Carolinians who demonstrate extraordinary lifetime achievement, service and contributions of national or statewide significance. “For the first time in my life I was rendered speechless,” Lahmeyer said. “It was the most humbling, awestruck moment and The ARK could not have achieved this almost 30 years of service without all our staff, donors and benefactors, volunteers and our family members who have all been involved.” 

To learn more about The ARK’s services, call 843-471-1360 or email info@thearkofsc.com. Classes, videos and programs are also available at theartofsc.org and on Facebook at The ARK Alzheimer’s Family Support Services.

BIO

Peg Lahmeyer: Executive Director and co-founder of The ARK of S.C.

Current Town: Summerville, South Carolina

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Huntingdon College

Family: Married to Jim Lahmeyer, mother to five, grandmother to more, pet-mom to two cats and one dog

Hobbies: Traveling, reading mysteries and historical fiction, hiking, and spending time with family and her fur babies