The WISE Adult Day Service Center provides Vera the chance to socialize and have fun, and Clarice the opportunity to work.

One of six children, Vera was 19 when her father died during World War II. Soon afterwards, on July 4th, she met Richard, an American G.I. at a dance - and they fell in love. After the war, like many British war brides, Vera - pregnant at the time - was left behind, to follow the next year on the Queen Mary with their then-9-month-old son. They settled in Fresno, California, on a farm with Richard's Armenian-speaking family. After a few years, they moved to northern California, where Richard worked as a house painter and where they raised their five children. When her husband died in 1978, Vera moved to a mobile home park until heart problems, and increasing memory problems, necessitated a change. She moved to Marina del Rey to live with her daughter, Clarice. But Clarice soon found that the level of care Vera needed was more than she could handle. Her job in sales required unpredictable hours, and she could not work while caring for her mother full-time.


The WISE Adult Day Service Center provides Vera the chance to socialize and have fun, and Clarice the opportunity to work. Vera's outlook on life has brightened, and Clarice has the time to work. Clarice also benefits from the emotional support and practical caregiving tips she receives from participation in the caregiver support group.