OAKLAND — Macular degeneration has darkened, but not completely taken Caroline Ericksen’s eyesight. And the 95-year-old retired clerical worker’s days brighten when the doorbell of her apartment near Lake Merritt rings in the early afternoon.
Ericksen is one of 1,200 at-risk seniors living in Oakland, Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro and San Lorenzo who receive well-balanced meals five days a week from local nonprofit Service Opportunities for Seniors (SOS) Meals on Wheels.
“I look forward to having them come,” said Ericksen, who shares her apartment with her 20-pound cat Noka. “All their volunteers are wonderful, very courteous and very polite. If there is something you really like, they will bring it for you.”
Despite her impaired vision, Ericksen still lives an active, independent life. She came to California from Massachusetts 70 years ago and was the first female clerk hired by the El Cerrito Police Department. She also did clerical work for 18 years for Clars Auction Gallery and still volunteers three days a week doing clerical work and is the dance night cashier at an Oakland senior center.
She was married for a time and has two children who make sure she gets what she wants and needs. But she decided to apply for Meals on Wheels three years ago. She calls it “a worthwhile project, particularly for an older person living alone. It’s hard to cook for one person.”
The organization also produces another 400 meals daily for LIFEElderCare, the Meals on Wheels provider for seniors in Fremont, Newark and Union City.
The mission of the 52-year-old San Leandro-based organization is to promote nutritional health, decrease the possibility of premature institutionalization, and foster and support independence and the dignity of home-bound seniors by enhancing their quality of life, said executive director Connie McCabe, who became involved in the organization in 1984.
The goal is to allow recipients, who range in age from 60 to 100-plus, to live independently at their homes as long as safely possible. Those who make the deliveries also bring companionship and check on the seniors’ well-being.
“Our drivers and volunteers are the only person that a lot of the seniors see every day,” said McCabe, who still occasionally delivers a meal. If appropriate, SOS can make a referral to other agencies that can further enhance the quality of life for meal participants, she said.
SOS Meals on Wheels has received funding from Share the Spirit, an annual holiday campaign to benefit needy residents in the East Bay. Donations support programs of more than 50 nonprofit agencies in Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
The organization’s annual budget is $3.4 million, but the amount of time given by volunteers, including those who make deliveries, cannot be measured in dollars, McCabe said.
Among the newest volunteers are Oakland police Sgt. Robert Trevino and his squad of patrol officers who work the swing shift in District 3 east of Lake Merritt. They began delivering meals on Fridays more than three months ago to more than a dozen recipients in their area, including Ericksen.
Trevino said seeing the seniors’ faces light up “has been such a positive experience for both sides. There has been lots of positive feedback and it has been a great experience for the officers” to see there is more to police work than enforcing laws.
He said police commanders wanted sergeants to develop community projects and he thought becoming involved with Meals on Wheels rather than participating in an occasional event would be beneficial to all, and it has been just that. “My goal was to develop a relationship not only with the organization we partner with but also the seniors we are serving. It’s been really rewarding.”
McCabe said other law enforcement agencies volunteer in different facets of the program, but Oakland police are the first to have actually “adopted a route.” Two officers make the deliveries on a rotating basis, and she said she hopes other police departments “will take notice.”
SHARE THE SPIRIT
The Share the Spirit holiday campaign, sponsored by the Bay Area News Group, serves needy residents of Alameda and Contra Costa counties by funding nonprofit holiday and outreach programs.
To make a tax-deductible contribution, clip the coupon accompanying this story or go to www.sharethespiriteastbay.org/donate. Readers with questions, and individuals or businesses interested in making large contributions, may contact the Share the Spirit program at 925-472-5760 or sharethespirit@crisis-center.org.