Ed Gyurina, a Meals on Wheels volunteer, gathers food for a delivery. Gyurina said volunteering is about more than dropping off food; it’s helping people stay connected to the world. Many meal recipients live by themselves.
Program offers fresh meals, friendly smiles
BY TERRY FLORES KENOSHA NEWS
Wilma Jean Hays sits on an old cane rocking chair padded with a multi-colored quilt composed of triangular pieces, stitched together by her former mother-in-law. “If you asked her — she’s dead now —she could tell you where each of these pieces came from,” she says, rocking in the chair. A wild wind whistles outside her living room window. A draft trickles through. Hays is tired most days, but the Kentucky native who has lived in Kenosha five decades now remains optimistic. Her positive spirit is almost as seamless as the quilt that surrounds her. “I just hope it holds together,” says Hays, who is 78. “I love this quilt. It was given to me as a present a long time ago.” For Hays, the blessings are many. Even though diabetes has slowed her down a bit, she receives with grace those who want to help her. Hays participates in the county’s Meals on Wheels program through Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services Inc. “My husband and I have been married 51 years,” she says. But her husband C.D. Hays, 85, no longer lives with her. He is at Beverly Health Care Nursing Home and has been there for about two years. Earlier, he suffered a stroke that left him unable to talk for several months and unable to walk. Hays, because of her illness, also can no longer drive or make her own meals. “I’d go hungry if it weren’t for this program,” she said. From trains to cars
Ed Gyurina, 73, of Pleasant Prairie has been a volunteer driver for the meal delivery program for the last 15 years. For more than a year now, he’s driven a route not far from his childhood home, just north of the city’s Uptown neighborhood. His route includes Hays’ home. As a younger man, he never really had to drive much. When the son of Czechoslovakian immigrants worked in downtown Chicago, Gyurina always drove his car not more than a few miles to the Kenosha train station. He then rode the train to the Chicago-Pacific Railroad office where he was employed for 35 years as a manager. While he sees the irony in having driven hundreds of miles in his retirement to deliver meals, he doesn’t mind. In fact, Gyurina is also an on-call substitute driver and volunteers for other Meals on Wheels activities and fund-raisers. He doesn’t receive mileage money, either, but that’s not why he does it. “I never had to drive. But I do this because it’s nice to see them, and sometimes you’re the only one they see all day,” he says. “The people are real appreciative. I guess for me I wanted to give myself something to do when I first signed up for the program.” The program became more than just something to do after the first time he placed a hot meal in the hands of someone who thanked him. “I never knew, until I did this, just how many people go without that meal,” he says, as he stops at the next home, switches on his hazard lights and checks the name on the list. “You’ve got to make sure you’ve got the right person because some of them have special diets. Like they can’t have sweets because of their diabetes or things like that,” he says. Over the years, hundreds of people have gotten to know Gyurina for his punctuality, accuracy and friendly demeanor. Gyurina is also a quick study when it comes to his surroundings and the quirks of all the people he visits at least once a week. “Sometimes they don’t answer right away,” he says, knocking on one door where he waits a couple of minutes. He has 40 minutes in which to bring a meal to the door. While on his route he doesn’t have a lot of time to talk, but he always greets people with a smile. Many of the meal participants, he says, aren’t able to leave their homes. Invaluable service
Hays doesn’t live alone, but she can’t leave her home much, either. Her grandson, who is 30, is her main caregiver and has been since her husband entered the nursing home. It’s the reason she didn’t move into an apartment exclusively for senior citizens like herself. “My grandson takes really good care of me. If it wasn’t for him … ” she pauses and continues, “he does the grocery shopping and my errands. If I moved, he wouldn’t be able to live with me.” Meals on Wheels, which delivers hot and cold meals five days a week, as well as emergency meals, also helps her to stay in her home. Hays learned about the Meals on Wheels program through her church, The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints on 30th Avenue. Her favorite meals are those that conjure memories of her Southern upbringing. “Being from Kentucky, I love the fried chicken, and they have delicious meatloaf, too,” she said. Gyurina doesn’t just deliver food — he delivers smiles. And not just his. On Halloween, he brought Hays a handmade pumpkin pop-up picture created by a student at StockerElementary School. Last year, a student from another school drew flowers that Hays labeled with her own grandchildren’s names. The piece hangs on a wall near the door where she can see it. “I think what the children do really touches their hearts,” Gyurina said. But Gyurina has often wondered about whether he will one day depend on the meals program. Although his health is still good, he enjoys assisting people who, because of illness, are limited in what they can do. “It sounds kinda selfish, doesn’t it?” he said. “But I do think about how one day this might be me. I might be in their shoes.”
Wilma Jean Hays, 78, of Kenosha, chats with Meals on Wheels driver Ed Gyurina, left. Hays, who is a diabetic and can no longer drive, said that without the program she’d probably go hungry.
Publication: Kenosha News; Date:2005 Dec 05; Section:Opinion; Page Number: A6
How to help
To become a driver for Meals on Wheels, volunteers should have a valid driver’s license and an insured vehicle. Drivers must be available once a week for an hour to pick up and deliver meals to anywhere from eight to 16 people. Training is provided. For information, contact the program at 658-3508, ext. 120.
Publication: Kenosha News; Date:2005 Dec 05; Section:Opinion; Page Number: A6
Need for Meals on Wheels increases; 22 on waiting list
BY TERRY FLORES KENOSHA NEWS
In the last five years, a program designed to bring hot and cold food to Kenosha County residents ages 60 and older who cannot leave their homes has grown, both in the number of meals and people it serves daily. The Meals on Wheels program served 250 older adults in 2000. That number grew to 300 this year, according to Perry Devaney, who directs the oldest program of Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services Inc. In 2001, the drivers delivered 97,000 meals. By the end of this year, says Devaney, her 150 to 200 volunteers will have prepared and delivered 110,000 meals. And, for the first time, the meal program had to establish a waiting list. “Currently there are 22 people on this list,” she adds. She says the majority of program participants are on a twomeal plan, which consists of a hot meal and a cold meal. Of the participants, one third are from the county’s Community Options Program, one third pay for their meals and the remaining third are funded through Title III and other federal funding under the Older Americans Act. The increased demand stems from a number of factors, including a growing aging population, chronic illnesses and economic conditions. “The reason we’re serving more meals is because we’re finding that there are more people out there who need more than just the noontime meal,” she said. Of the three groups who depend on Meals on Wheels, the greatest increase has come in the Title III funding category. Those whose meals qualify for Title III funding must meet several criteria, including being homebound, having difficulty with mobility or physical limitations, living by themselves or having some medically diagnosed physical disability. “Part of our goal is to keep people in their homes as long as it works for them,” Devaney said. A typical meal recipient is 80 years old or older, lives by herself (most are women) and has a limited income. The majority live in the city of Kenosha, where meals are prepared locally at five sites, including Hospitality Manor Nursing Home, Meadowmere Assisted Living, Kenosha Medical Center, the Kenosha Achievement Center and Beverly Health Care Nursing Home. In western KenoshaCounty, 20 to 30 people are served by the program at the WestoshaCommunity Center. Devaney anticipates that the need for the meal program will continue to increase in the future. “Certainly the aging population is increasing each year and will continue to increase once you see the baby boomers. We’re also dealing with a population that is living longer. Caregivers are not always available for 80-year-olds, so they’ll continue to need something like Meals on Wheels,” she said.
Perry Devaney