Home care in Brielle

Brielle Public Library at 610 South Street is open until 7:30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and until 1pm on Saturdays, and a library card is free to Brielle residents. Its adult programs include author events, lectures, workshops, book discussion groups and computer classes, and adult patrons can reserve museum passes with a Monmouth County Library card.

For a parent who can't get to the library, Brielle was the first library in the Monmouth County Library System to offer delivery to the homebound. A resident whose medical or physical limitations keep them from visiting calls by 5pm on Wednesday, and the books are delivered or picked up on Friday morning, in regular or large print or as audio books, with no limit on how many. The books are due back in two weeks. A caregiver can make the Wednesday call, be there on Friday morning and sit with your mother over the new stack, or drive her to an evening program.

Monmouth County's published list of senior centers has no entry for Brielle, so older residents turn to the county's Division on Aging in Freehold. Its resource list includes nutrition sites and home delivered meals, chore services and Project Lifesaver. For rides, Ride in Monmouth's shared ride takes seniors 60 and over Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 3:30pm, with priority for medical trips and food shopping, and needs a reservation four days ahead.

At home, the borough collects household garbage once a week, in containers of 32 gallons or less, two at most. Anyone going away can fill out the police department's Closed Home form with where they'll be, whom to contact and which vehicles stay, and the borough sends CodeRED notifications to those who sign up. A caregiver can handle the bins, the form and the alerts, and drive your father to an appointment after 3:30 or on a weekend.