They arrive at their intergenerational day care center five mornings a week, dropped off by parents and adult children on their way to work.
They are seniors with cognitive impairment, and children from 3 months old up to age 5 spending their days as neighbors only steps apart.
For one hour a day, they come together and bond. It’s something beautiful and awesome to see.
Age can steal a mind, but it can’t steal what’s in your heart.
“Our seniors with cognitive impairment won’t remember what they did in that hour, but they remember the children,” said Julyann (cq) Marquez, a program specialist for the ONEgeneration Intergenerational Daycare Center in Van Nuys.
“One lady gets watery-eyed every time she holds a baby in her arms. She’s not able to express what she’s thinking, but it’s very emotional,” Julyann said.
Are they tears of joy or sadness, though? Julyana had to find out. Holding sadness in your arms was not part of the program.
“I talked to her family members and learned throughout her life whenever she held a baby she was so happy she’d tear up.”
On the day we talked, a little girl recoiled when she saw a new bandage on the hand of her senior. Was he okay, she asked? Assured he was, she ran to him and gave him a big hug in his wheelchair.
His eyes came alive. It was Christmas morning again and his kids were opening their presents and giving him a hug.
Never underestimate the magical power of a child’s arms.
“One of the big pluses of the program is when these children get older and see someone on a walker or in a wheelchair out in public they’ll have learned to be respectful and gentle with them,” Julyann said.
Less than a mile away from the intergenerational day care center is the ONEgeneration Senior Enrichment Center, also on Victory Boulevard, where a different type of generational class was beginning.
It’s called “Sages and Seekers.” High school students — the seekers — are paired with active…
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