Pinkie Cole has lived in Oak Harbor since her husband Shelby’s Navy career brought them to the Pacific Northwest. She and Shelby had 51 years together; Pinkie now lives alone but she isn’t lonely.
“I’ll live here as long as they will let me,” she said. “My friends and my garden keep me busy.”
She plays bingo twice a week and spends as much time in her garden as she can. She’s planted lettuce and tomatoes in raised beds “a nice young man” built for her. Plums from her trees make wonderful jelly. There’s plenty for Pinkie to weed. “I pull poppies out as fast as they pop up,” she said.
Cole also spends three days a week at Day Break, an adult day care and respite center in Oak Harbor.
The nine-year-old center recently celebrated its first year in a new facility built and furnished especially for it. And there’s more opportunity to take advantage of the facilities. The center is now open five days a week to offer social care for any disabled adults age 18 and up. People can be regularly enrolled and drop-ins are welcome.
“We help families sustain and maintain home life as long as possible,” Jennifer Crossley, Day Break program director said.
“We give our clients time to be themselves, whether it’s a caregiver taking a break, running errands or giving people who live alone time out of the house,” she added.
Day Break is a “social model” adult care center that focuses on peer interaction in a home atmosphere. Crossley said Day Break “caters to clients” and their caregivers’ support networks. By keeping families and caregivers refreshed and not burned out, Crossley said everyone can have fun and see pleasure in “all stages of life.”
Sometimes a spouse may want to take a class at the Senior Center or need time to take care of finances. Day Break offers a safe, fun, homey facility to leave loved ones for a few hours.
Any adult who can function in a group is welcome. Day Break provides programs, meals and activities and clients are free to choose what they do. “We give people a chance to be themselves and freedom from mundane routine,” Crossley said.
All activities are structured to stimulate minds and bring out independence. Oak Harbor Garden Club members come once a month to present a program, George Konopik brings music and other volunteers of all ages come out. National Geographic videos and tapes from local travel agencies give adults a chance to take “armchair travel” trips. Tuesday is “Price Is Right” day: Everyone watches the popular CBS game show.
Crossley said everyone enjoys “Price Is Right” day, but otherwise the TV is hardly on. “We found folks enjoy talking and working on projects much more than watching TV,” she said.
“I love this place,” Pinkie Cole said from her chair at a flower-filled table. “I see friends, exercise and keep my mind sharp.”
Take a break
Day Break offers care five days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Staff are fully trained in first aid and CPR. They can’t administer drugs, but can remind people to take their medications. Any disabled adult, age 18 and older, is welcome as long as they aren’t aggressive or abusive to themselves or others. Regular enrollees pay $8.50 per hour; drop-in care is $10 per hour with a two-hour minimum stay. Drop-in service requires pre-screening.
Volunteers of all ages are welcome. Volunteer Jim Ramler recently received a certificate of recognition for the more than 2,500 hours he has given to Day Break. Oak Harbor City Council will honor Ramler for his service at the May 20 council meeting.
Call 240-0702 for more information about Day Break.
