Imagine being alone for the holidays—no one to send a gift to, no pictures from children or grandchildren to post on the wall, no present to unwrap. That is the reality for many senior citizens in care facilities and nursing homes across the country, and the ones in East County are no different. Loneliness awaits them in December, without people who would come together to make a difference.
Imagine being alone for the holidays—no one to send a gift to, no pictures from children or grandchildren to post on the wall, no present to unwrap. That is the reality for many senior citizens in care facilities and nursing homes across the country, and the ones in East County are no different. Loneliness awaits them in December, without people who would come together to make a difference.
Home Instead Senior Care recently partnered with the La Mesa Adult Enrichment Center (LMAEC) to bring some holiday cheer in the way of gifts with it’s Be a Santa to a Senior program. Christmas trees were displayed at the LMAEC from November to early December with the names of seniors and their gift requests printed on ornaments. With the help of generous retailers, volunteers and shoppers, seniors at three different East County care facilities had a holiday wish fulfilled.
“I don’t have any tears left,” said Regina Williamson, Community Liaison for Home Instead. “Seeing the look on the faces of those people who had no one to visit them. They are so sweet, and they are so filled with gratitude, for us coming by and doing this for them.”
Williamson and her Home Instead colleague Stephanie Kazouris bring such an effortless combination of duty and compassion to the program that they are more like elves than employees serving the people for whom Christmas might just be any other day.
Two days before Christmas, Williamson and Kazouris handed out gifts to seniors in the recreation hall of Brighton Place Assisted Living Home in Spring Valley. They all gathered around a Christmas tree, some in wheelchairs, others settled under blankets, but all with a smile as they were called by name and remembered by someone who showed them kindness and cared enough to keep them from feeling alone.
“The ones at Good Samaritan [Retirement Center] had no friends or family to visit them at Christmas,” Williamson said, shaking her head in regret.
The bright side is, with some organization, the East County community pitches in to keep them from being forgotten, which is why the Be a Santa to a Senior program is going so strong nearing it’s tenth year delivering gifts.
“I get to be behind the scenes, I get to wrap the gifts, and I get to see people bringing things in. It just shows how great of a community we have here in East County,” Kazouris said.
In the U.S., more than one million people live in nursing homes. The rec hall, shared rooms, and medical staff at Brighton Place distinguish the type of institutions that care for the sick and elderly that even with a decorated Christmas tree can be devoid of joy. Be a Santa to a Senior and similar programs enliven and elevate the atmosphere, and have made a difference in a month that can be tough for some.
After the gifts were handed out and the recipients made their way back to their beds, Kazouris and Williamson were approached by a woman named Robin battling disease, but still standing and emphatic with gratitude as Williamson mentioned. She grabbed Williamson’s hand and squeezed it tightly.
“I got a chance to live again,” said Robin. “Thank you for being here.”
The gift giving of Be a Santa to a Senior seemed to be a mutual affair.
