Several friends of mine would answer it is a place where they may go when they are a lot older. These friends are my age. I felt the same when I retired at 64 and told myself I was way too young to hang around a senior center playing bingo and watching television. Finally boredom with staying home alone drove me to put my misgivings aside and visit our local senior center. There were many people who were younger than I. It was a very important first step in my happy retirement.
Today’s senior centers have come a long way. Don’t expect to find frail elderly people just sitting around passing the time watching TV until they can go home again to watch TV. Instead you will find active adults participating in fitness activities from line dancing to balance improvement to Tai Chi to Wii Bowling You will also find computer classes, card games, Mahjong, quilting, painting workshops, book groups and pool. If you want to do it, you will most likely find it at your senior center. Transportation services, meals and nutrition programs, and volunteer and employment opportunities can often be found also.
Senior centers are recognized under the Older Americans Act as an important community asset for seniors. There are almost 10,000 senior centers in the country serving more than one million seniors every day. The National Council on Aging provides the following facts about the country’s senior centers.
- Approximately 70% of participants are women; half of them live alone.
- Majority are Caucasian, followed by African Americans, Hispanics and Asians.
- Senior center participants have higher levels of health, social interaction, and life satisfaction.
- Average age of participants is 75.
- Seventy five percent of participants visit their center 1-3 times a week spending an average of 3.3 hours a week.
- Senior centers frequently introduce participants to local community services intended to keep them healthy and independent.
- Today’s senior centers are changing to reflect the needs and interests of baby boomers (1946-1964) who now make up more than two thirds of the over 50 population.
- Senior centers are funded by federal, state and local governments, public and private grants, businesses, bequests and many volunteer hours.
The facts about senior centers present an important picture. The more accurate picture however is what senior centers mean to their participants. I am honored to serve as a Commissioner on our local center Commission. I have taken painting, Tai Chi, Mahjong, bridge and participated in a literature group with an amazingly diverse and intelligent group of seniors. We offer music and history programs on a regular basis and frequently have over 200 attendees. We have holiday celebrations, a great Super Bowl party, Saturday night dances and more events than I can list here.
I am at our Goebel Adult CommunityCenter frequently but some of our participants come every day just to see friends or to participate in our senior lunch program. Most of us would say that it is like going to Cheers where everybody knows your name. For those of us who live alone, it is a wonderful safe contact with others. Several years ago an older gentleman passed away at the center. He had played pool there for years and had formed very meaningful friendships with the other pool players. Several weeks later his son came to visit and told his friends that he just wanted to meet the people who had meant so much to his dad after he had been widowed and see the place his dad had chosen to spend so much time. The engineer son of one of our participants invented a robotic dog for his mom who had spent every day at the center until she was no longer able to come. He displays it at our wellness festivals. Bingo is played three times a week with prizes from $50 to $300. Many of our players come every day partially for the challenge of the “new” bingo, partially for the chance to win money but most would say they come to see friends developed over the years of playing together.
On a personal level our center has always been a place I could go to learn a new skill or participate in a program. Most importantly it is a place where I can just drop in with no particular purpose to simply feel happy and comfortable and be around people I have come to know.