SANDPOINT — Patsy is all smiles as you enter the front door to the DayBreak Center. She looks over, catches your eye and says, “Good morning” in a way that makes you feel right at home.

The place, in fact, resembles nothing so much as a comfortable home, what with its sun-splashed kitchen, bright dining area and inviting living room filled with couches, recliners and cozy chairs.

For caregivers of people diagnosed with dementia, the center is something else — a respite, a reprieve, a chance to regroup and move on with the tough work of caring for a loved one whose needs require 24/7 attention.

That’s where the DayBreak Center comes in. For those who know about this opportunity, it offers a way to step out of the caregiver’s role for a bit. Errands can be run. Friends can be met for a cup of coffee. Those who spend their days and nights caring for another can pause, take a breath and invest in some much-needed self-care.

As inviting as it sounds, there are emotional hurdles that must be cleared first.

“People tell us that the hardest thing to do — the biggest hump they have to get over — is just coming through the door,” says Anne Haynes, DayBreak Center program coordinator. “There’s a lot of guilt involved. They feel like they’re abandoning the person they love by bringing them here.”

At the other end of the table, Patsy is playing dominoes with activities assistant Denise Dombrowski.

“It’s good to see you today,” Dombrowski says as she slips into a chair and arranges her dominoes.

“It’s nice to be here,” says Patsy, still smiling.

You can be forgiven for having mistaken Patsy — a participant in the DayBreak Center’s programs — as one of the staff. Her alertness and interactivity, however, are a benefit of the sociability that is at the heart of the center’s work.

According to Haynes, these people come from a generation where manners were taught and social graces held in high esteem. They might be tough on those closest to them — those who are doing the work of caring for them — but, almost like muscle memory, a social situation triggers an aspect of their personalities that might appear to have gone dormant.

“They come in, see our name tags and say ‘hello’ using our names,” she says. “Their loved ones can’t help but notice that they are more social — and happier — after being here.”

“We’re the breath of fresh air,” says Adrianne Bellucci, also an activities assistant at the DayBreak Center. “And we get to witness a lot of touching, tender moments of humanity.”

First opened in 2008, the DayBreak Center moved around through a few addresses in Sandpoint and Ponderay before landing in the 1,400-square-foot location it has called home since 2010. The center’s proximity to the Sandpoint Area Seniors building — it is attached to the east side of that structure — makes perfect sense, as the DayBreak Center represents one point on the Senior Center triangle of services that also include meals and activities in the man building, as well as home-delivered meals to the community.

“The Senior Center provides our mid-day meals, so along with activities, we also break bread together,” Bellucci says.

Public awareness about the center was high when it first made the move to its current location. Lately, though, Haynes says participation has been lighter, with an average of four or fewer people spending time there during the day.

“We’d like it to be closer to six to eight participants,” Bellucci says, adding that the need to give caregivers a break is a great as ever.

Beyond safeguarding the physical, mental and emotional health of those caregivers by offering an oasis of time away from being on duty, the DayBreak Center holds out the prospect of keeping the person with dementia at home as long as possible, even as the disease progresses toward its final stages.

“We can help give them that last year to stay at home before they have to go into a care facility,” Haynes says.

With the gas fireplace flickering in the background and Patsy’s attention turned from the game to the holiday meal — turkey with all the trimmings and side dishes — that has been placed in front of her, the staff highlights the importance of love and dignity and the trappings of home in the work the DayBreak Center does.

“We’re a little home away from home,” says Bellucci. “A home that embraces the person and makes them feel comfortable immediately.”

That goes for the caregivers, as well. Once they’ve made it through the door, the surroundings speak of a setting where they can leave their loved ones with confidence — if only for a few hours.

“Caregivers don’t realize how much help they need until they’re about to hit the wall,” says Haynes. “We’re here to intervene before they reach that point.

“It’s like it takes a village to help a senior,” she adds.

Volunteers wishing to join that village are invited to put their talents to work in a variety of ways, including sharing music, leading arts and crafts activities, bringing children in for intergenerational activities, providing light massage or helping with gardening.

The fee for DayBreak Center services is $10 per hour and Sandpoint Area Seniors offers a Family Assistance Fund to offset part of the cost in some cases. A fundraiser is planned for next March at Idaho Pour Authority to ensure that financial assistance remains available.

“So that families who need help can get it,” Haynes says.

Along with offering daytime care and acting as a social center for participants, the DayBreak Center also hosts Alzheimer’s Support Group meetings on the first and third Thursdays of each month, from 1-2 p.m.

The DayBreak Center is located at 820 Main, near the corner of Forest Ave. and Main St. in Sandpoint. For hours and information call 208-265-8127.