Honky tonkin' for a cause

Sunshine Haven is something vital in South Texas: a comfortable, caring home for terminally ill people who need a place to spend their last days.

It costs about $10,000 a month to run the not-for-profit operation, which subsists entirely on charitable donations, fundraisers and grants. Sunshine Haven is holding a "Honky Tonk Holiday" fundraiser Sunday at Wink’s Saloon.

Sunshine Haven cares for people who are homeless or live in substandard housing; have no one at home physically or emotionally able to provide 24-hour care; don’t want to die in a "high-tech" hospital environment; are looking for a supportive community and a "holistic, spirit-centered approach to the dying process," according to the organization’s literature.

Housed in a cozy, three-bedroom house in Olmito, the organization since it was established in 2000 has served 456 residents, most of them from Cameron County. While demand for its end-of-life services is huge, Sunshine Haven can only accommodate three residents at a time.

"At times there’s a very long waiting list," says Charlene Rowles, the facility’s executive director. "We’re in the process of working on an addition. We’re hoping to increase to 10 beds."

Sunshine Haven, founded by registered nurse Lois del Castillo and a group of area residents, opened its doors thanks to major donations from the Sarafy Foundation and the Brownsville Foundation for Health and Education. It has also benefited in the past from financial support from Meadows Foundation and the Brownsville Community Block Grant program.

Licensed as a special care facility by the Texas Department of Health, Sunshine Haven receives no reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance. As a result, fundraisers are a vital source of support — though it’s a tough row to hoe these days, Rowles says.

"With the downturn in the economy fundraising has become pretty challenging," she says.

This Sunday’s fundraiser at Wink’s Saloon is a first for Sunshine Haven — a down-home alternative to last year’s Dancing With the Stars fundraiser, originally planned as an annual event.

"It was very expensive for us to put on, and with the economy the way it is we were afraid we would go into the red," Rowles says. "We decided to do something a little more casual."

Rowles, stumbling upon Wink’s one day, decided it looked like the perfect place for a fundraiser: a big barn with raw cedar everywhere, a stage, barbecue — even cattle-roping shows. The fundraiser starts at 2 p.m. and lasts till 6 p.m., with food, music, a market for holiday shopping and the Dallas Cowboys on the big screen.

Thanks to the wave of aging baby boomers, the proportion of America’s population that is elderly is rising rapidly. Advances in medicine and medical technology allow people to live longer before becoming incapacitated by ill health. These two factors combined make for unprecedented numbers of very sick elders, which in turn creates a demand for end-of-life services that exceeds the capacity of existing special care facilities. Rowles says Texas has 14 special care services, three of them in the Rio Grande Valley. Sunshine Haven was modeled on McAllen’s Comfort House, which opened in 1989.

Rowles, a registered nurse and certified hospice and palliative care nurse, oversees Sunshine Haven’s staff of certified nursing assistants, medical assistants and nursing and pre-med students. The facility gets help from community volunteers. Even family members are encouraged to hang around and help staff when possible. Despite the sadness inherent in such an environment, turnover among staff is very low, Rowles says.

Rowles, for her part, says she’s found her true calling. From the emergency room to intensive care, none of the other nursing positions she’s held in her 30-year career has been as gratifying, Rowles says.

"It’s a labor of love," she says. "It really is. Nothing comes close to hospice care."

Tickets for Sunday’s Honky Tonk Holiday fundraiser are $40 for adults and $20 for children under 12. For ticket information call (956) 350-8400 or (956) 459-7583.