Tomorrow's Senior Center: Dynamic, Accessible and Perhaps Not Even Called Senior

Directors Offer Their Vision of the Future

By Jean Van Ryzin

If you call it "senior," will they come?

That's just one question on the minds of many senior center directors as they look down the road and see the baby boomer population approaching old age.

With their sheer numbers and diverse lifestyles, the boomers offer center directors an unprecedented opportunity to reshape the image of today's senior centers into a dynamic, accessible and appealing community resource. The question is how?

The National Institute for Senior Centers (NISC) and Tracey Kelley, principal investigator and graduate student intern from Baylor University School of Social Work, recently (2005) asked 244 senior center directors what they think needs to change to prepare senior centers for the tidal wave of aging boomers on the horizon. 

The Name Game

When it comes to image and perception, an organization's name is crucial. And it seems many of today's senior center directors aren't happy with what they've got. When asked if they were in favor of changing the name of their program, 63% said yes. Nearly 60% said they don't believe the term "senior center" will serve their community well into the future, and 70% said baby boomers can't relate to it.

"There's a negative image or stigma associated with the current name," said one respondent. "It suggests a stereotypical view of people sitting around in a wheelchair playing cards."

The title "senior center" doesn't adequately reflect the high activity level found in most centers, and it makes it difficult to market centers to younger seniors, others said.

Yet, some directors pointed out that a common name helps people find the center in their community. "It clearly identifies the facility as where seniors go for services and activities … changing it would cause confusion," one respondent said.

"Seniors would fight it," added another. "Younger people are the ones that have the problem, not older people."

Still, more than 70% of respondents said it is possible to come up with a better name than senior center.

Programming and Accessibility

Beyond the name, directors realize that to attract more and younger people to their centers, they need strong programming that is accessible and appealing.

"Less cards, more activities," summed up one respondent. Educational and community events—often in collaboration with other local agencies or groups—can expand the scope of the senior center, and evening and weekend hours are attractive to the growing number of older adults who are working well past traditional retirement age.

Programming needs to change with the generations, as well, many respondents said, offering a diverse mix of activities that appeal to younger and older seniors, men and women.

Centers also must address the common barriers that keep seniors from attending. Among the most basic are accessibility issues like transportation, parking, health issues and hours of operation. Perhaps more difficult to combat are misperceptions people have about senior centers—such as that they're only for low-income individuals or people must be very old to participate.

In many situations, there's a basic lack of understanding about what a senior center is, what services are provided and to whom the services are available, respondents agreed. In other cases, seniors are afraid to visit, feeling the environment is unfamiliar and not welcoming.

All of these issues must be addressed if seniors are to successfully compete with other organizations offering similar services to older adults, the survey found. In the next five to 10 years, directors said their major sources of competition are likely to include:

• Assisted living and senior retirement communities;
• Community colleges and universities;
• Other community organizations and institutions, such as faith-based groups (churches, synagogues, mosques), hospitals offering volunteer and travel clubs, banks offering travel clubs and country clubs; and
• Adult programs offered through recreation and parks departments.

The Center of the Future

What will tomorrow's senior center look like? According to many of those surveyed, the future is already here, as communities actively redesign their centers to be on the cutting edge.

"Our center is truly representative of what I see centers looking like in the future," said one respondent, "multi-service, multi-lingual, a wide range of programs for young, old, frail, active, retired and working."

"We are in the midst of designing a new senior center," another director said. "We are adding a fitness area, computer room, large multi-functional space that can be broken into multiple program areas and a preventive health room. It will focus on multi-functional utilization. Fewer senior centers will be freestanding, but rather, they will be a part of a community center attached to another facility—in our case, a library."

Other respondents said seniors centers already are offering more exercise and health programs and a greater selection of intergenerational activities. Others are actively collaborating with other community organizations such as universities to offer educational and recreational opportunities that seniors want.

Boomers Serving Boomers

When it comes to imagining what aging boomers will want from their local senior center, today's directors shouldn't have to work too hard. The fact is, most are boomers themselves. Of the center directors surveyed, 73% are aged 40-59, and another 15% are aged 60-69.

More than 80% of respondents are female, and 95% are white. More than half have served as director for less than 10 years, while a quarter have been on the job more than 15 years.

Nearly 40% of centers are located in suburban settings, 32% in urban locations and 24% in rural environments. Nearly 80% are members of NISC.

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