“We specialize in dementia,” said Justin Zarb, director of the Livonia church’s adult day care ministry. “Taking care of someone in advanced stages of Alzheimer’s gets to be challenging. Caregivers need a break.”

Zarb said not all seniors who attend adult day care have dementia or Alzheimer’s but the ministry is designed to meet those specialized needs.

Open from 7:30 am–5:30 pm, weekdays, the Riverside program costs $5 an hour for a “jam-packed” day that includes discussion and reminiscing, chair exercises, sports games—a recent session had seniors playing tabletop bowling—lunch, snacks, bingo and other activities.

The focus is on “empowerment,” allowing attendees to engage in supervised activities and tasks that will help them achieve success.

“What we find is they come out of their shells,” Zarb noted. He said sometimes caregivers may strengthen a loved one’s feeling of helplessness by constantly diverting their attention and discouraging their participation in simple tasks.

A son or daughter, for example, might prohibit their elderly mother from helping to wash dishes at home, even though she has lifelong experience in the kitchen.

“If you’re always stepping in, it becomes an indignity. It makes them feel helpless. The key is to give them successful things to do,” Zarb said.

“If we’re playing bingo we might have one member call (numbers).” Or one senior might help another in keeping track of the game. A mix of paid staff members and church volunteers lead the program activities and assist participants.

FLEXIBLE MINISTRY

Families choose how often—and how many hours—their elderly loved one attends the program.

“We can be very flexible in terms of hours and cost,” Zarb said.

The Rev. Debra Klein, senior pastor, said the church has the freedom to “meet families where they are” and accept payment on a sliding scale if needed, because the day care is a church ministry and not a business.

Before starting its own day care last year, the church rented a room to HelpSource, a private not-for-profit agency, based in Ann Arbor, that also offered adult day care on site.

That program folded in 2007, but the need for adult day care persisted.

“God provided Justin and the staff,” Rev. Klein said. “Families know they have a place that is there for them. It’s a part of the church.”

Both said families look at the day care program a little differently now that it’s a church ministry.

“I’ve had a couple of families tell me they feel closer to their own church and they feel closer to God,” Zarb noted.

“It’s not ‘us’ and ‘them,’” Rev. Klein added, noting that the previous day care and its clients were separate from the church. “They basically rented a room from us. Now there’s a real connection,” she said.

OTHER PROGRAMS

Although the Adult Day Care ministry is a major outreach for the church, it isn’t Riverside’s only mission. The non-denominational Christian church, with headquarters in Anderson, IN, strives to “demonstrate the spirit of Jesus Christ by offering significant ministries” within the community.

The church partners with Life Care Services LLC to offer affordable counseling to families in need.

Senior luncheons, held the third Thursday of the month, draw many individuals who do not regularly attend Riverside Park.

Life Groups meet on Wednesdays and Sundays in various members’ homes to deal with such topics as decision making, understanding the Bible, prayer, fasting and relationships.

Associate pastor the Rev. Rhodell Valentine said the Church of God tends to maintain smaller, more intimate churches—as opposed to “megachurches” with hundreds of members—and has many missionaries.

Rev. Valentine joined Riverside Park Church of God two years ago. The Rev. Klein became its senior pastor in 2005, when church membership had dwindled to about 25 individuals. She has increased membership and attendance every year since then.

“There were only two people under 50,” she said, recalling her initial days as pastor. “Now we have families of all ages.”

Article courtesy of the Redford Observer and Hometownlife.com. Photos by Bill Bresler, Observer staff photographer.