Senior centers a great service

September is National Senior Center Month. If you’ve never visited your local senior center, this is a great opportunity to see everything it has to offer. If you do attend a senior center, invite a friend to visit with you. Today’s senior centers offer something for everyone.

In honor of Senior Center Month, here are a few facts about these community-based organizations.

Did you know…

The senior center as we know it today was first introduced in New York City in 1943. Its purpose was to provide social activities, nutritious meals, and case management to adults aged 60 and older, particularly those with low incomes.

There are currently an estimated 15,000 centers across the United States helping millions of older adults from all walks of life.

Today’s senior centers are focused on connecting people with meaningful work and volunteer opportunities and increasing their access to valuable benefits and resources. Through evidenced-based programs, they help people manage their health and finances, so they can continue to live at home as long as possible.

Senior centers are one of the most widely utilized services supported by the Older Americans Act of 1965.

You can help make sure senior centers continue to provide important programs and services in the future. Ask your members of Congress to work for a 10 percent appropriations increase for all Older Americans Act (OAA) programs. Remind them that OAA programs help to preserve the health and independence of our nation’s seniors, enabling them to remain in their own homes longer.

Tell your members of Congress that if OAA funding since 2002 had simply kept pace with inflation and the growing number of seniors, it would be more than $400 million higher in 2007, not even addressing the increased need for services. If possible, add a sentence or two about your own experience with OAA programs, highlighting the problems caused by service cutbacks and waiting lists.