The Future of Senior Centers

As a staff member at the Niles Senior Center I frequently wonder about the future of senior centers and what these centers will be like when I reach an age where I can use them.  All around the country senior centers have been closing or severely cutting their staff and services.  It seems to be an epidemic of closings and cutting of services.  Why?  What can we do to save our centers?

What will the senior center of the (not so far away) future look like?  What types of needs will the over 60 population require?  What new innovations will senior centers need to do in order to not become obsolete and “a thing of the past”?  Is the appeal of senior centers slipping? These are questions that I have been thinking about for some years now.  We all want vitality, energy, youth.  This goes for ourselves as well as the places we decide to spend a lot of our free time and money.

Looking ahead to the future of these centers requires us to look back into senior center history.  We need to see what was done in the past to keep the evolution of these centers current.  What was done well, what was done poorly, and what can we do today to ensure that there will still be senior centers for the 50+ (that’s right, 50+) population of the future.

The founding of the nation's first senior center was in 1943 in the Bronx.  These seniors were a gathering place for many seniors (70+) to go to enjoy the company of other people of the same generation, and perhaps play a few hands of cards.  There were no services we tend to think about today in senior centers such as social workers, nurses, and a variety of programs to help stimulate the cultural, educational, social, spiritual, and health needs of older adults. 

Time pretty much stood still at senior centers around the country until the glorious 70’s (see the 70’s weren’t all polyester and disco!).  The Age of the Senior Citizen had arrived; passage of the Older Americans Act had taken place in July of 1965, making government funding available for programs to assist the elderly. The Meals on Wheels and other federally financed meals programs began, and many centers were awarded with grant money depending on how much food was served.  Nutrition and companionship were worthy goals for the centers, but are no longer the draw they once were.

Today, many older adults rely on senior centers and other aging services and social service programs for their basic needs, to maintain their health and independence, and to mitigate the effects of social isolation. I have personally seen stunning transformations in people who once were shy and reserved – who I can now not stop from being the life of any party we throw here at the NSC.

We have many seniors who enjoy and rely on the NSC, however, many others are either unaware of what we have to offer, choose not to participate or are unable participate. Moreover, research increasingly suggests that today and tomorrow's seniors, those wonderful baby boomers, may have different expectations and needs than those that guided the development of the current system.

Experts predict that baby boomers will not walk in the door of outdated centers, with few activities besides bingo and transportation to the mall.  Baby boomers may be getting older, but research shows they don't like the term senior, and they already constitute more than two-thirds of the 50-plus population.  Today’s senior doesn’t even like to be called “Senior.”  And why would they go to a center named after “those old people?”  Today’s mature adults like adventure, travel, talks on finances, and continuing education.  The want to be involved in their community in various volunteer aspects, and they certainly don’t want to go to a center where there may be people napping in the lobby.  They don’t want reminders that the ageing process doesn’t stop – they are the largest investors in creams, hair dye, and convertibles.  Again, they want to retain their health and youth. 

 So here we are.  How do we as senior centers and senior service workers innovate our centers so that we don’t go to the wayside?  Some places I know have changed their names from “senior center” to “community center” – not a bad idea. I know I have been proposing some sort of name change for a bit.  Some people just don’t like to equate themselves with the word “senior.” There will hopefully be more community and family centers of the future with more of an appeal across the generations.  A lot of Centers appear to be going for more of a “country club” atmosphere with libraries, media rooms and exercise centers. Heavy noon meals are being replaced with food-service areas – like coffee and juice bars – just look at the various Mather Cafes around the city of Chicago.

Some centers have lowered their age requirement to invite and encourage younger seniors to come in and attend programs.  More physically active programs have been added to many centers around the country such as fishing, golf, canoeing, hot air balloon rides, and walking and hiking clubs.  The times and locations of programming have changed at many Centers as well.   As government funding has dried up, centers have also replaced free activities with "fees for service" and annual membership dues.  There are also a lot more evening and weekend programming to accommodate the younger senior who may be still working or who just aren’t “morning people.”  (I am so one of those non-morning people!)

There is more at most centers as well.  More of everything -  multi-service, multi-lingual, a wide range of programs for young, old, frail, active, retired and working – cutting edge.

For us, at the NSC, it is an exciting time.  It is a time to reinvent and redesign ourselves.  We do this in order to continue to serve the needs of the frail and elderly in our community, as well as leap into the present and future in order to overcome some misperceptions and stereotypes, and help lead the boomers into their own time – what they deserve and offer the educational and recreational opportunities that they want.  Please feel free to stop by the NSC at the corner of Oakton and Waukegan, and give us a look.  Perhaps we have what you want in a center.