This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
With Californians leading longer, healthier and more productive lives, the desire for thriving hubs of older adult activity seems more pressing than ever before.
The role and function of a senior center will need to evolve and expand to address growing demand. With 29 centers in the greater Los Angeles area, we visited a few of them to see what today’s older adult community hopes to find.
Here are five things we learned:
No two senior centers are alike
Centers that serve California’s older adults ultimately define themselves by the specific needs and available resources of their local communities. Racial demographics, public transportation options and space limitations determine who frequents a center and how services are administered.
In response to the federal 1965 Older Americans Act, California established 33 so-called area agencies on aging that help funnel information, resources and funding across all 58 counties. Senior centers might be operated through cities, counties, or even some sort of private or nonprofit partnerships.
We observed significant disparity across a swath of Los Angeles area senior centers. From Lincoln Heights to Watts to Culver City, we saw notable variances in staffing, attendance and services.
Culver City boasts a well-designed and robust center that serves a diverse population of older adults. Lincoln Heights and Watts operate in much smaller spaces with multipurpose rooms. Both featured programming that catered to their neighborhoods’ historic demographics, with Lincoln Heights highlighting Latino events and Watts emphasizing the Black community.
But regardless of the differences in available resources, every center we visited gave older adults an invaluable space to congregate, socialize and engage in a shared community atmosphere.
Coupling and companionship know no age limits
Many older adults we saw participating in senior center activities found their way there after suffering the loss of their partner or spouse. Quickly establishing new social connections may be the best medicine for bereavement.
The National Institutes of Health and other studies have documented a significant rise in mortality rates for individuals who recently lost their partner. Within the first three months of a spouse’s death, and even in the months beyond, older people have a much higher risk of dying themselves.
At the three centers we visited, friendship, companionship and romantic pursuits looked to be in full swing. The older adults we observed — across the generational spectrum of ages 60 through 90 — were clearly embracing life moment by moment.
“When we’re kids, we go to school and that becomes our social world,” said National Council on Aging Director Dianne Stone. “During our working life, we have a social world with people we work with. We have those natural opportunities. And when you get older, you need the same things.”
The social energy we saw at senior centers included the urge to partner up and find physical connection. Underscoring this dynamic, national numbers show a huge increase in sexually transmitted infection rates among adults over 65.
“I don’t wanna be light about this,” said California Department of Aging Director Susan DeMarois. “Forming friendships, relationships — romantic or otherwise — is really important. Chosen family can be such a big part of caregiving.”
Meals bring people inside
One consistent component rang true across all senior centers. Subsidized lunch programs proved to be a huge conduit for social engagement and daily attendance.
Free or low-cost meals often entice older adults to visit a center, mingle with peers and see what other services might appeal to them. Scheduled activities immediately before and after lunch generally seem to draw the best attendance.
And although funding and support for other services varies greatly, subsidized meal programs receive steady resourcing. Each of the centers we visited offered similar well-balanced nutritional options provided through independent local nonprofit organizations.
Not enough data
Very little quantifiable information gets tracked about the older adults who attend and use services at senior centers. Handwritten signup rosters at the entrance — or per class or per meal — are often the only types of records kept.
Most centers serve a wide expanse of generations, but there seems to be no data that examines the percentage of attendees who are in their 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s or older.
Additionally, many community services for older adults can be provided in other spaces that are not designated “senior” centers. Public libraries, schools and recreation centers also host classes, events and meal programs to fill gaps where there may not be a space exclusive for older adults.
Varying ethnic community centers also offer places for their older adults to find resources specific to their culture and language. It all adds up to a wide multitude of small outlets with no unilateral infrastructure.
Limited academic studies exist, and these primarily relied on data collected through voluntary surveys or focus group sessions.
When looking for a breakdown of attendance by age group, ethnicity or gender, no information was available. The state keeps records of how many subsidized meals it provides in congregate settings, but it doesn’t specify how many it serves specifically in senior centers.
Inadequate funding and limited resources
Even the senior centers with the best services face an uphill battle to pay for services and provide resources. Relying on a combination of federal, state and local funds, centers must further look to other options like private funding and donations.
“Senior centers really struggle with having adequate funding and getting funding prioritized for their operations,” said Stone. “Part of that might be the lack of data — the demonstration of the impacts of their services, in the competition for scarce resources.”
The Culver City Senior Center stands out as successful and thriving and it draws attendees from miles around. Culver City is a small community of about 40,000 people with a high household median income of $117,000 — almost $30,000 greater than the median income of Los Angeles.
As its own entity, Culver serves its older adult community well. The $20 annual membership for its nearly 4,000 members helps, as does the small voluntary charge for each person per class, per meal or per event. The gym has an additional $125 yearly fee.
“Everything costs money here,” said Tomasina Del Rio Vicente. “But it’s worth it.” She’s been going to the Culver center three times a week for years and loves the $5 fitness classes, especially Zumba.
The California Department of Aging uses its resources to promote information and services across the state but it doesn’t dictate what happens inside senior centers.
“It’s important to have an ecosystem in every community that’s made up of public, private and nonprofit partners,” said DeMarois. “The bricks and mortar and keeping the lights on tend to fall as part of a city, a county, a nonprofit agency, a church group.
“Our role is with the programming that helps draw people to the centers, so that they’re vibrant environments with activities, art, music, dance, computer skills and meals. We really help with the programmatic side, and that’s why it’s such a great public private partnership.
Joe Garcia is a California Local News fellow.
This story was produced jointly by CalMatters and CatchLight as part of our mental health initiative.
