Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Fitness is just one of the goals at the Saratoga Senior Center, where Cindy Teerlink has been teaching aerobics for some 10 years.

Affluent Burden

Senior fundraising effort suffers from perception about Saratoga

By Sarah Lombardo

It was almost a year ago that a member of the Saratoga Area Senior Coordinating Council stood up at a city budget hearing and told the council that the senior organization could survive without its more than $18,000 share of city funding for the next year, so that the city's budget trimming of more than $1 million would be that much less painful. Then-mayor Gillian Moran thanked Dane Christensen and other SASCC members for the group's sacrifice at the time. But with SASCC fundraising entering its second month, the sacrifice is that much more noticeable, and the drive holds that much more importance for the group.

SASCC hopes to raise at least $15,000 to make up for the group's loss of general fund money from the city. The group sent out fliers to area residents and has applied for county funds, but the drive continues so that the Saratoga Senior Center may continue to provide its programs, from card games and exercising classes to a number of support groups including the Widow and Widower Support Group--which has grown to more than 100 members. The Senior Center also offers financial, medical and emotional counseling, legal assistance on a limited basis, flu shot programs, housing assistance and referral services.

Mary Richards, administrative director of the Senior Care Center, one of the senior center's programs, says that raising funds for the center has been slow-going when it comes to receiving outside support.

"Apparently, the name 'Saratoga' does not do us much favor in getting funding," she said. "[Potential donors] feel the community itself should be able to provide the funding more than it can."

The misconception that a program in Saratoga with its expensive housing and high median income, doesn't need outside financial assistance could hurt a number of residents who do not have the income to get the help offered through many of the center's programs. "The affluence of our community hides the fact that numerous Saratoga seniors live near the poverty line or on fixed incomes that do not rise with the cost of living in Silicon Valley," the SASCC letter seeking donations states.

The misconception could also hurt a number of seniors who participate in the Saratoga Adult Care Center--which will celebrate its 10th anniversary Jan. 21--and their families who rely on the center.

Participants in the care center start arriving at about 9:30 in the morning. When the day officially begins at 10 a.m., nearly 20 people are there to enjoy a day of socializing. Games will be played, lunch will be served and discussions will be led. Sometimes, guest speakers visit the Saratoga Adult Care Center, providing clients with entertainment and, more importantly, a chance to get out of the house and be with other people for the day.

"She loves going there. It's something that she just loves doing," says Betty Bobu, whose mother, Inez, attends the center on Allendale Avenue. "It keeps her active, stimulated and creative." Bobu and her son, a West Valley College student, take turns caring for Inez and dropping her off and picking her up from the center every day.

The center, open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every weekday, hosts four daily programs, from art projects and poetry readings to current events and "sit-ercise" classes, and serves hot lunch to its participants. Participants should be over 60 years old, but Richards says that criterion--pretty much the only one the center has--is even bent occasionally to allow younger residents into the program, and residents don't have to be from Saratoga. Fees for the center are charged on a sliding scale, depending on what families can afford, and currently range between $11 and $45 a day. But for the services it provides, family members say the center is priceless.

"We have to work. Of the three of us, none of us have the income to not work," Bobu said. "If we didn't have the day care, [Inez] probably would have to be placed somewhere that wouldn't be best for her. [The center] allows her to be at home, and it allows us to work."

Because the care center is not medically oriented and does not have nurses on staff, it can't care for residents who need such attention. But for many clients who suffer from dementia or Alzheimer's disease, have had a stroke or just don't want to be alone during the day, the center provides a social life.

"The way we say it is that we are for older or less independent adults. So for people who need our services, we're here for them," Richards says. "If we can see there is some kind of quality or some kind of benefit that person is getting from the program, even if it's minimal, then we will accept them."

Judy Kirby, a San Jose resident, says of her mother, who suffers from dementia, "She's very disappointed when she can't go. ... She's in her element there. She's with people and they can talk, and they haven't heard her stories before."

But, Kirby says, the program doesn't just benefit her mother; it also benefits her. "It gives me a break," she says. "We tried to look around for something because it's very difficult to take care of someone 24 hours a day."

Kirby is not the only one who feels that way.

"That's the second biggest thing we do--act as a referral source for people and a support system for them because basically, our expertise is dealing with older adults and families in transition," Richards says. These days, many families in transition find themselves caring for both children and aging parents at the same time, thus earning the label the "sandwich generation."

And with more than 180,000 people in Santa Clara County over the age of 60, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, a growing number of families are likely to find themselves in the position of trying to provide care for a parent.

Richards, a human development graduate from UC-Davis, says that as the baby boomer generation gets older, more attention will be paid to providing day-care programs for adults who are healthy enough to not require a nurse's constant care but still need assistance throughout the day. It's a need unique to the next generation.

"It's very hard. And it's a whole new structure of the family because people haven't lived this long," Richards says. "We're dealing with issues that are new to our culture--period."

It's a service that has only been developed in recent years.

"People are now saying, 'I don't have to put Mom in a nursing home. She doesn't have to move into a center at all. I have options,' " Richards says.

And options are what many family members say they are most grateful for.

"There needs to be some real respite time for each of us," says Bobu, whose mother suffers from Alzheimer's. "I honestly don't know what we would do if we did not have that option, because you're looking at about six hours a day of time for which most people charge an hour what they make as a living. ... It's kind of a unique situation that our generation faces in taking care of our elders. With my grandparents, it wasn't an issue."

Bobu found out about the Adult Care Center at an Alzheimer's support group, another of the many support programs offered through the center in addition to the day care.

But it's not always children of older parents who need help.

Saratoga resident George Crabtree's wife, Charlotte, was one of the first clients to attend the center 10 years ago. After retiring from 30 years in the Stanford University mathematics department, Charlotte suffered a massive stroke that left her paralyzed on one side and unable to speak. She attended months of rehabilitation, and a social worker told George about the center that was soon to open.

"Right away, we knew this was something that Charlotte could take part in," George says. "I just had to have time, a little time to myself."

The Crabtrees moved into a retirement community for a while, but George said they didn't like it and moved back to a house in Saratoga. George said that over the years, Charlotte's ability to do certain tasks for herself has improved, but the time she spends at the care center allows him to take a break. "When Charlotte comes to the club and I'm tired, I can just lie down and take a little snooze or maybe do a little washing or shopping," he says.

The club also gives Charlotte time away. "She enjoys the activities, and she participates in all the activities she can," he says.

The care program employees six staff members, although not all of them are full time, Richards says. The program also boasts many volunteers who help out, but more are always needed--especially anyone interested in picking up the seniors' lunches in Los Gatos and bringing them to the care center. Funding for the program relies mostly on SASCC funding from the city of Saratoga and Santa Clara County Community Development Block Grants, according to Richards. Individual donations, fees for Senior Center programs and fundraisers also help supplement the care center's operations. But with recent city budget cuts, SASCC fundraising has found it has a bigger gap to fill. Richards says she and SASCC board members will learn a lot about applying for grants in the next year.

But Richards still has a lot of plans for the center's next 10 years. She says she wants to try to incorporate new activities into the seniors' daily routines. "Being open 10 years, you can kind of get used to doing the same things," she says.

Richards would also like to see the care center go outdoors. "My goal, especially for the summer, is to do some more outdoor-type activities. We don't have a lot of outdoor space, but they are going to be building on--as soon as we find out where the funding is going to come from, and it will, I know it's going to happen, I have faith--a big patio," she says.

Richards hopes a vegetable and herb garden will adorn the future patio. "My feeling is, the more you can incorporate of life in general--plants, animals, children, indoors, outdoors--the better. It keeps people stimulated in all different areas," she says. "And that's a challenge because our folks function at such different levels."

But whatever the center's future may bring, the first 10 years of the Saratoga Adult Care Center have provided its participants with social lives and friendships, and family members with the chance to keep loved ones at home.

"Every day, when we pick [my mother] up," Bobu said, "there are a lot of goodbyes."

To volunteer at the Senior Care Center or find out more about its programs, call the center at 868-1262. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To contact SASCC about donating to the organization's fundraiser, call 868-1257.

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