By Gerri Miller
EAN Staff Writer
This summer will be much brighter and busier than last year for many of the area’s senior adults.
Senior citizen centers are a valuable resource to the River Region area in keeping senior citizens active and engaged but COVID-19 restrictions have prevented them from meeting in person for more than a year.
Now many of those restrictions have been lifted. Senior adult programs have already started back on a limited basis at the Gillespie Senior Center in Prattville where the city is offering twice-a-week classes for Bingo, line dancing and exercise.
The Millbrook Senior Center will reopen on June 14 and program Director Olivia Venable is planning a welcome back party. The party will start at 9 a.m. with games and light refreshments. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m.
“After a long time closed to in person activity due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are excited to announce and welcome all Seniors 60 and older to join us for a welcome back party,” Venable said.
The Alabama Department of Senior Services issued new guidelines in accordance with Governor Kay Ivey’s State Health Order on April 7th that stated that the decision to allow activities at senior centers should be made by each senior center or municipality.
Venable said the Center continued delivering food to its members throughout the pandemic but found that most seniors wanted to wait to return until the Center could provide a regular schedule.
“We started delivering Meals on Wheels with two crews because the demand was so great,” Venable said. She said the Center provides 50 meals each day with most delivered by Venable, her staff and volunteers.
Venable said the center provides nutritional education, exercise classes, recreational activities such as board games, Bingo, computer training and other valuable services. “Most of our members are really excited about coming back,” she said.
Although the pandemic and the skyrocketing costs of materials has delayed the building of a new senior center, she said the City is still committed to the project. She expects news any day on the future plans.
In Prattville, Senior Adult Program Coordinator Kris Colley is just trying to get things back to normal at the Gillespie Center. The Center offers programs to adults ages 55 and older. There has been a steady stream of seniors taking classes and playing Bingo since the center reopened on a limited basis in April.
“I get phone calls every day from our card players who want to come back and play,” she said. The Center had not been able to offer card games because it involves sharing equipment.
“We are already planning trips and getting in gear for our future activities,” Colley said. “We’ve had a new set of people coming through because we have been offering drive-through meals and we are encouraging them to join the group.”
Colley said the Center will continue providing drive-through meals for a while because there are some people who are not comfortable coming in yet. The program has been providing 25 drive-through meals for the past year and 55 daily meals through Meals on Wheels.
According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), research shows that older adults who go to senior centers learn to delay and manage the development of chronic disease. In addition, they experience an improvement in their mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, social and economic wellbeing.
“The senior community is really important to Mayor Kelley and the City,” Venable said. “It is a priority that our area’s seniors have a nice place to gather.”
