TIME-HONORED TOUCH ONE PUTS OLD, YOUNG IN CONTACT.

Byline: Martin Kuz Staff Writer

RESEDA - A boy named Cole hands a plastic triangle and square to his playmate, Irene, who holds a small red bucket in her lap. When she pops the pieces through similar shaped openings in the bucket's lid, they laugh and clap together, delighted by their teamwork.

Minutes later playtime ends, and Cole and Irene hug before leaving the playground. Cole follows his teacher into a classroom, while another staff worker leads Irene toward a second building a few feet away.

Cole is 2. Irene is 84. And they're both at day care.

``I just love being with children,'' said Irene Overlee, her smile as bright as the morning sun. ``Being here is special.''

Scenes of young and old coming together play out every day at the Organization for the Needs of the Elderly, or ONE, thanks to a novel day-care program emerging as a regional and national success story.

ONE's intergenerational program, created in 1994, brings together toddlers and seniors, and that approach is now bringing the Van Nuys-based nonprofit to prominence: Groups in Orange County and New York City that intend to launch similar programs want ONE to serve as a consultant to their efforts.

ONE officials also cite the program's popularity when discussing their plans, revealed this week, to seek public and private funding to construct a second center in Southern California. Possible sites for the new facility, scheduled to be built by next summer, include the areas of Long Beach-South Bay and Santa Monica-Culver City.

The program is also the subject of an ongoing study of human development by researchers at Virginia Tech University, and earlier this month ONE received the Agency of the Year award from the Los Angeles Department of Aging.

The evolution of ONE, founded in 1978, into a national day-care model reflects the appeal of a simple idea, Executive Director Marilyn Green Fried said. People, no matter their age, crave human contact.

``If you bring a senior to a nursing home, he'll be sitting in a chair, wearing a lap belt and staring into space. Bring him here and he's dancing,'' she said ``... And that's a wonderful educational experience for the children to be part of.''

Two buildings make up the ONE campus on the 18200 block of Victory Boulevard. The child-care center, where 78 youngsters ranging in age from a few months to 6 years old spend their day, resembles most others. The children, divided into three age groups, pass the time reading stories, drawing pictures and running around the playground.

The senior center also looks like any other, and a typical day sees 60 of the 102 adults enrolled in ONE visiting the center. They take part in exercise classes and receive physical or speech therapy, with nurses on hand to provide medical assistance. Like their youthful counterparts, the seniors go home at the end of each day.

But everything changes six times a day, when small groups of kids and their older ``neighbors'' get together. They gather for a half-hour at a time to paint, sing and go for walks, among other activities. The seniors also lend a hand during nap time, patting backs and stroking heads to help the children fall asleep.

Staff members supervise the children and adults at all times, and participation among seniors is optional. Most get involved at least once or twice a day, drawn less by the actual activity than by the giggles of children, said Kelly Bruno, director of the intergenerational center.

``It doesn't really matter that they're playing catch with a ball or putting a square peg in a square hole. What matters is that they're doing it together,'' she said.

That credo came to life on a recent morning when a gaggle of 4- and 5-year-olds rushed into a room in the seniors center to make a homemade modeling compound resembling Play-Doh with 10 adults. Each child sat next to a senior, and they took turns kneading the dough and flattening it with rolling pins.

``I like to play with kids,'' said 82-year-old George Nassaney, who lives in Woodland Hills. ``It just makes me feel good.''

``Me, too,'' said a 5-year-old girl named Jordan, crawling into his lap.

``This is my lady,'' Nassaney said, giving the girl a squeeze.

About 90 percent of ONE's seniors suffer from Alzheimer's disease or another form of memory impairment, and some cope with physical disabilities as well.

Even so, a child's touch can act as a salve for seniors burdened by the melancholy of aging. An elderly man named Vince, who has Alzheimer's and grows morose if left to himself, sings and jokes during the modeling- compound session, tapping the table as if he were, well, a kid again.

``There are many times when a senior might not be feeling good or might be cranky,'' said ONE child-care teacher Gina DiFonzo. ``But as soon as they see the kids, they're smiling and happy. It gives them something to live for.''

Children at ONE, meanwhile, learn to accept and respect the elderly, Bruno said, a sentiment seconded by Canoga Park residents Justin and Rori Albert, whose 2-year-old son attends the center.

``We're of the philosophy that it takes a village,'' said Justin Albert, 31. ``The needs of the elderly are very similar to that of children, and they both benefit from the interaction. What happens here is not just a good thing. It's almost magical.''

Magical, yes; easy, no. Bruno said other care facilities across the country attempt to mingle kids and seniors, but either limit the contact to once a week or month, or give up entirely when the endeavor proves too much work.

Other programs ask to borrow a list of ONE's activities, believing that its success lies within the curriculum. But that's only half of the equation, Bruno said, adding that a strong curriculum means little without the staff's devotion.

``My reaction to that is if all you think you need is our activities, you need our consultation even more,'' she said.

ONE's consulting work in Orange County and New York City is set to start in coming weeks with two groups that for now want to remain anonymous. For ONE, the chance to share its approach to shrinking the generation gap represents a longtime ambition, associate executive director Donna Deutchman said.

``When you love something and you know it makes a difference in people's lives, sometimes you're frustrated by your lack of reach,'' she said. ``Consulting increases our reach and allows us to have a profound impact on many more people's lives.''

The construction of a second ONE center would do likewise. Deutchman said a Westside businessman, Nathan Lustman, has pledged to donate money to the cause, and group officials hope to attract other benefactors in addition to public funding. (Lustman has referred all media inquiries to ONE.)

Culver City, among the cities trying to lure ONE, will discuss that prospect at a joint meeting of its school board and City Council in June. The city is building a new 27,000-square-foot senior center, and also wants to bolster its day-care offerings, said Don Rogers, the city's human services director.

``ONE is an exceptional program that would fit in well with what we're trying to do throughout the city and school district,'' he said. ``We like what it does for seniors and kids.''

Gina Track can vouch for that double benefit. Track's 2-year-old daughter, Sophia, and 71-year-old mother, Olga D'Andrea, both attend ONE.

Track, 33, credits ONE for strengthening the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter. Olga uses a wheelchair and has Alzheimer's. But where she once seemed distant around Sophia, now the haze lifts whenever the little girl who calls her ``Nonna'' comes to give her a hug at the center.

``She's beautiful, she's wonderful,'' Olga said, beaming as Sophia sat on her lap. ``I'm happy.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Napper Max Hale, 1, above, receives the loving touch of Mary Galfredo, 91, as part of the ONE intergenerational day-care program. Above, Galfredo reads to the toddler at the Van Nuys center.

(3 -- 4) Nora McVarish, 89, reacts to Ashleigh Chamberlin, 3, during a ONE play session. Below, octogenarian George Nassaney and Naomi MaCavlay, 4, take a walk.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer