They wouldn’t let the blue balloon touch the floor. That was the trick — to keep it floating.
About a dozen adults, seated in a circle, batted a balloon around on a recent weekday. Swatted at random, the balloon went generally in the direction it was hit. But sometimes not. Occasionally, one of the participants let out a squeal as it came his or her way.
“Good job, Sarah!” said one of the volunteers. “Russell, you da man!” said another.
Later they will put together puzzles. They may be kids’ games, but they’re also about mind stimulation to adults in various stages of impairment. The Respite Care Ministry of St. Luke United Methodist Church, marking its 10-year anniversary Sunday, has a two-fold purpose: to help keep the participants active and socialized, and to give their full-time caregivers a break for errands or simple rest.
“We’re a well-kept secret,” said director Carol Boers, who’s likened the Respite Care Ministry to a geriatric Mothers Morning Out.
The ministry is one-of-a-kind in the area. What that means, in part, is the price hasn’t gone up since 1999. It’s $20 per day for each participant, or $50 a week if the person attends all three days. It’s open three days a week, Tuesday-Thursday.
The adults must be ambulatory, meaning they have to be able to care for basic needs. They spend the several hours playing games, doing puzzles and helping out in the kitchen.
When the program started in 1999, participants met in an upstairs classroom area of St. Luke. In 2007, the church unveiled its new property, a former law office on Third Avenue. Each of the rooms is decorated with bright colors — mostly yellows and blues. Sofas, a piano, a kitchen, a patio area with garden and the game/exercise room make the former office feel homey. Bright pictures cover the walls.
“Our goal is to give them four good hours so they can feel good about themselves. There’s a lot of joy in this building,” said Boers, who works alongside a host of volunteers, and also two other staff, Mary Bass and Mary Williams, who have worked in the program since the beginning.
“Tears are shed, too,” Boers added. “One person will start to tell a special story. Sometimes we’ll be singing and one will say, ‘That was my dad’s favorite hymn.’ We’re touched when they’re comfortable enough to share some of their personal stories.”
Age 60 is the basic required age, but some much younger have been participants. In the early days, a woman in her 40s attended who had a closed-head injury and suffered short-term memory loss.
Alexis Williams was the first director, until she and her family moved to North Carolina in 2002.
“It’s been neat to see that the continuity has not changed at all,” Williams said in a recent phone interview. “I get a lump in my throat when I think about it.” She especially praised the work of Boers and “the two Marys,” who labored alongside her when the program got going. “They have a wonderful understanding of what it means to be a caregiver and a care recipient.”
Because Alexis Williams still has family in Columbus, she’s been able to come back and see the new building on Third Avenue.
“I think what they have done is wonderful — the design of the building, the homey feel, the thought given to each room,” she said.
The Respite Care Ministry recently added a video to its repertoire of marketing materials. In it, a few caregivers give testimony about the program. One is Connie McEwen, whose son Russell attends.
“I cried like a baby when I left him,” Connie McEwen says on the video. “When I picked him up, he was so happy, and my suffering was wasted. … I would have made a mistake if I had not brought him.”
Another caretaker was Cliff Tucker. He looked after his mother, Daisy Tucker, for many years before her death earlier this summer. Boers said the last time she attended the program was last December, for her birthday. When Cliff dropped Daisy off under the covered porch that day, Boers remembered that she was wearing a pretty hat and scarf, and that everyone marveled over her outfit.
“We want to be as positive with them as we can,” Boers said. “We learn so much from them. They have so much wisdom.”
ContactAllison Kennedyat 706-576-6237.
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To see more about the Respite Care program at St. Luke, click here
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