COEUR d’ALENE – Michael Marinko visits Bennett House, an adult daycare center in Coeur d’Alene operated by On Site For Seniors, three days a week.
As far as he’s concerned, it’s home away from home.
The Vietnam War veteran watches TV, plays games, reads, enjoys a cup of coffee, and chats with whoever is there.
He talks about one of the employees and their last chess match.
“She won pretty well on Monday, she really kicked my ass,” said Marinko with a smile.
Chess is just one of Michael Marinko’s daily challenges.
It doesn’t come out too often and doesn’t last very long due to back pain. He suffered a brain injury and is battling dementia.
“Sometimes I forget what I’m talking about,” he said. “They help me in part with this.
What the Post Falls man loves most about his visits to Bennett House over the past couple of years is how it challenges his mind, how it makes it work.
“This is what this place has done for me,” he said.
His wife, Ellen Marinko, heard about it from the Veterans Administration a few years ago.
“We thought it would be a good choice for Michael,” she said.
It turned out to be exactly that.
He keeps the 68-year-old in a safe and warm environment and gives her time for shopping and other household chores.
“He loves coming here and that’s what is most important,” she said.
Michel accepted.
“I like it a bit. And like my wife said, it gives us both a chance to get away from each other, to do our thing, ”he said.
That’s exactly what Bill Muck, executive director of On Site For Seniors, a faith-based, nonprofit organization founded in 2008 in Coeur d’Alene with around 12 employees, likes to hear.
“We have a guy at Sandpoint, 95, he’s a WWII veteran, just as sharp as a nail,” Muck said. “If you sit down and talk with him for five minutes, you’re in love with that man. And to hear how he’s benefited from our services is wonderful.
“You hear their stories. And it is touching. “
Muck wants others to know about these stories.
“I just think the community needs to be aware that we have this kind of facility,” he said in a recent interview with The Press. “There are a lot of old people here. There are a lot of retirees here in northern Idaho.
The program is designed to meet the needs of the elderly by providing medical care through home visits and on-site telehealth services, connecting them to resources and sharing God’s love through its centers. adult day (including a second at Sandpoint), respite care, resource coaching, spiritual support and social visits.
Muck said he found that many older people did not want to go out. They need someone they can trust to help them around the house.
Services are funded by fees, insurance payments, grants and donations.
Muck, a pastor who also runs the Crossroads Community Church in Rose Lake, joined On Site For Seniors about six months ago.
He used to be a pastor in Reno.
“I knew I wanted to be something in a faith-based nonprofit because of my experiences and that’s what I believe in,” he said.
“It’s like it’s an answered prayer. It has been a blessing for me to be here because I have what they need and they need what I have. It’s a perfect match, perfect.
Dave Sims is a member of the board of directors of On Site for Seniors. Previously, he used their services for medical care because he is quadriplegic.
“I helped them here for a year before I understood exactly what they offered,” he said.
Sims, a musician who also ran an Overcomers ministry at Real Life Ministries, believes On Site For Seniors can do more.
He was delighted that Muck had been involved with his experience in fundraising and community outreach.
Due to limited fundraising opportunities due to COVID over the past two years, On Site For Seniors has experienced financial difficulties.
“Like most small nonprofits do, they never make ends meet,” Sims said.
He is therefore working on a major fundraiser. Until then, Sims wants to do everything he can to educate people about On Site For Seniors.
“I really believe that God put this together, this opportunity,” he said. “I think once that starts, I think God will take over and I think the funding will come and I think there will be money to do other things, as long as we stay true and let us use it in a godly way. “
Info: onsite4seniors.org/
Comments are closed.