What does a modern senior center look like?
What’s the first word that comes to mind upon hearing “senior center”? If you said “bingo,” you’re not alone. Senior centers suffer from an image problem: many people, including plenty of baby boomers, think of them as sedate, isolated places without much going on.
The stereotype has a kernel of truth: not every senior center has always been in touch with the needs of the people it serves. But with the population of older Americans expanding by the millions in the coming years, there’s exciting new energy around re-inventing senior centers. Baby boomers are envisioning and building their ideal community hubs–and these places go way beyond bingo.
Serving Today’s Generation
In the upcoming issue 98 of CSA Journal, Dianne Stone, Associate Director of Network Development and Engagement at the National Council on Aging (NCOA), shares insights from her team’s 2022 report, The State of Today’s Senior Centers. They interviewed clients and staff to identify themes around the ideal modern senior center. One important finding was that people who patronize these centers want them to be inclusive and knowledgeable about their clients.
The Wallis Annenberg GenSpace in Los Angeles provides a case study for an innovative and inclusive senior center. Genspace describes itself as “a destination dedicated to enriching and expanding the lives of older adults by forging new relationships and creative expression through storytelling, technology, art, and horticultural therapy in beautiful green spaces.”
Ann Batcheller tried other senior centers before finding GenSpace, but never felt at home. “They felt very antiquated, very old, not me,” she says. The encouragement and support she found at GenSpace, along with the beautiful building and gathering spaces, kept her coming back.
Located in one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the country, GenSpace costs only $10/month to join thanks to philanthropic support. Because of these factors and the meaningful activity options, people of all backgrounds come together in the space.
Another nationally-recognized senior center, the Stamford Senior Center in Connecticut, focuses on the specific interests of its members by offering some activities in Spanish, as well as English and Spanish classes. They also center volunteerism; for example, in 2022, about 50 members painted a run-down bridge with brightly-colored water lilies, a beautification project as a gift to the community.
Focusing on Health and Technology
The NCOA study also found that senior center clients look for programming that’s centered around well-being and health. And, they want to see that not only is the center integrating modern technology into its services and physical space, but teaching its clients about technology, as well.
At GenSpace, clients can stop by a “tech bar” for one-on-one support with their devices, or sign up for classes on tech topics. And fitness class options range from restorative stretching to Latin dance. Other well-being classes include positive psychology workshops, meditation sessions, and nutrition seminars.
Modernizing means considering who’s the audience for a senior center. Today, centers are recognizing how they can better serve the entire family system, including caregivers. And, as people live longer and retirements expand, center leaders are thinking about how to appeal to the multiple generations of seniors who are seeking a community hub—people ranging in age from 55 to centenarians.
A Set of National Standards for Senior Centers
Another finding from NCOA’s study was that people want nationally-recognized benchmarks for senior center programming and operations. Since the 1970s, NCOA has sponsored the National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC), which offered an accreditation program that set a standard of excellence for senior centers in the country.
Recently, NISC phased out that program, and this year, they’re starting to offer instead free online self-assessment, called Senior Center Standards of Excellence. Their goal is to make it easier for any senior center to undertake a self-study process with stakeholders to identify strengths, weaknesses, and goals for the future. The standards include Purpose, Community, Governance, Administration and Human Resources, Program Planning, Evaluation, Fiscal Management, Records and Reports, and Facility. Taking part in a Standards of Excellence process puts a senior center in touch with a national network of other centers dedicated to modernizing and serving today’s older adults–not the older generation of 10, 20, or 30 years ago.
NISC also runs an online Modernizing Senior Centers Resource Center available to senior center professionals and the public.
Nationwide, 11,000 senior centers serve our communities; meanwhile, 11,000 Americans turn 65 every day. As more people need senior centers, “the need to reinvent these vital facilities has never been more pressing,” writes Stone of NCOA in her upcoming CSA Journal article. The good news for all of us is that we’re experiencing a senior center renaissance–led today by the baby boomers, and tomorrow by Gen X.
