Photo by Deb Jacques 11-year-old Sawyer Malinowski has been living with his grandmother, Gayle Gregorczik, for 10 years while she cares for him. Gregorczik often takes advantage of the services offered through the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program.

Heroes among us

Grandparents raise
their children’s children

By Sarah Cormier
C & G Staff Writer
   
Gayle Gregorczik has been raising her grandson, Sawyer Malinowski, since he was 1 year old. He is now a vibrant 11-year-old in sixth-grade at Prevail Academy in Mount Clemens.
   
On the recent Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Malinowski was off of school and chose the day to dress as an astronaut. Wearing an orange, one-piece NASA spacesuit, complete with a helmet, Sawyer jumped around the house happily, playing with a couple of his cats, waiting to watch a space movie with Grandma.
   
It’s a scene from the life led by grandma and grandson. She helps him with his homework and takes care of his day-to-day needs. She is responsible for creating fun in his life, and frequently takes him to the movies, or they watch a Red Wings hockey game together. Basically, Gregorczik does all of the things any parent anywhere does. Making sacrifices to provide Malinowski with what he deserves isn’t uncommon for Gregorczik, either.
   
“I moved from California so I could be with him,” she said.
   
When he was 1, Malinowski’s mom relinquished her rights to Gregorczik so that Gregorczik could have co-custody with the boy’s father.
   
“We are trying to do it together,” Gregorczik said about parenting with her daughter. “She is not living with us, but she is involved.” 
   
Gregorczik’s situation isn’t uncommon.

In fact, according to a study done by the Area Agency on Aging 1-B, children under 18 in the United States living in a “Grandparent Headed Household” increased by 29.7 percent from 1990 to 2000. In 2000, approximately 3,805 grandparents provided care for 7,559 grandchildren in Macomb County. In Oakland County, about 5,841 grandparents watched over 11,420 children.
   
James McGuire, director of planning and advocacy for the Area Agency on Aging 1-B, quite simply calls these grandparents “heroes.”
   
“It helps prevent a lot of the kids that might, for example, be raised in the foster care system,” he said.
   
According to the study, statewide, grandparents who prevent their grandchildren from going to foster care save the state about $1.8 billion a year.
   
McGuire said that grandparents raising their grandchildren often have to deal with public facilities, such as hospitals or schools, refusing to communicate with anyone other than the child’s “parent.”
   
“A key issue is that I think that our systems don’t always appreciate the value of grandparents stepping in to these roles,” he said.
   
Gregorczik agrees that there are some challenges she faces that are unique.

“You kind of feel alienated from your family at times,” she said.

When she is in need of support, Gregorczik utilizes the services of an organization called Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, available through the Macomb County Department of Senior Citizens.
   
Through the program, Gregorczik and Malinowski can do fun activities, such as attending camp at the YMCA.
   
“It feels like a week in the Bahamas,” Gregorczik said.
   
The group even helped Malinowski successfully apply to a program that will allow him and Grandma to stay in the Michigan State University dorms for three days and attend some classes he personally picked.
   
And like every good parent, Grandma said she is looking forward to the MSU weekend, when she will get to watch her grandson work closer to achieving his goals.
   
“I want to go to the moon someday,” Malinowski said. “That is my dream.”
   
You can reach Sarah Cormier at scormier@candgnews.com