Tag Archives: Westport Center for Senior Activities

Unsung Heroes #342

Posted on July 17, 2024 | 8 comments

Marie DePalma writes:

To all the people in the “06880 community” of a certain age: If you haven’t been to the Westport Center for Senior Activities (Senior Center), you are missing out!

I nominate for unsung heroes the entire WCSA staff.

They are all the best: friendly, helpful, sympathetic, always smiling, and always giving a friendly “hello” when you walk through the doors.

Senior Center staff (from left): Denise Puskas, Jenny Townsend (no longer on staff), Felicia Smith, Bobby Novack, Jason Wilson (no longer on staff), Wendy Petty, Diana Andrews, Kaila Morgan, Holly Betts, Paulina Przybysz, Lawrie Williams. Not pictured: Luis Angel Atamiz, San Chaz, Rick McVay.

Wendy Petty is the Senior Center director. She is a very special person: friendly and helpful to all. She spends time in the lobby greeting and talking to seniors as they enter. She capably manages the staff, and keeps the Center running smoothly.

I always learn new things from Holly Betts, the assistant director. She has great catering skills, and makes wonderful hors d’oeuvres and sweet treats for all the special events. Holly also manages over 90 classes, lectures and special programs every week. The best!

Paulina Przyzysb is the nutrition program coordinator, managing home-delivered meals and the kitchen. I love working with her on Mondays. It is a great kitchen with wonderful menus, serving healthy lunches 5 days a week.

Luis is our super skilled chef, helped by Rick who keeps the kitchen in tip-top shape. The home-delivered meals program provides daily food assistance to many people in town.

Chef Luis.

Bobbie and Lawrie are the two Center custodians. They are always ready to move furniture, set up rooms, keep things clean and provide a hand.

Kaila Morgan is a social worker in the Department of Human Services. She spends many hours at the Center, helping navigate the many state and local programs available to seniors.  She is ready and willing for all.

Last but not least are Felicia, Denise and Diana – the first beautiful and friendly faces you see when you walk through the doors. They sign people up for classes, special events, lunches, bingo and much more. They have full knowledge of everything at the Center, and are dedicated to helping everyone.

PS: We cannot forget the Friends of the Westport Center for Senior Activities.  They put on great Sunday music programs, and sponsor films, lectures and other performances on Fridays.

As a senior myself, there is much to be grateful for, thanks to the superb WCSA staff.

I’m sorry if I have forgotten anyone. Please chalk it up to “a senior moment”!

(Unsung Hero is a weekly “06880” feature. To nominate a hero, email 06880blog@gmail.com. To support our work, please click here. Thank you!)

 

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Senior Center: Town Jewel Seeks Enhancements

Posted on May 8, 2017 | 6 comments

There are about as many senior citizens in Westport as school-age children.

But you can’t lump all our older folks together, any more than you can say kindergartners are the same as, um, seniors.

The men and women who frequent our Senior Center — formally known as the Westport Center for Senior Activities — range in age from 60s to 90s. Some come nearly every day; others regularly, or infrequently.

They head to the handsome downtown building for a variety of reasons: Fitness, aerobics, Pilates or yoga. Discussions and lectures. Meet longtime friends, and make new ones. Parkinson’s support groups. Lunch. Use computers. Play pool, bridge, poker, Scrabble or ping pong. Paint, sculpt or sketch. Read. Help with taxes, financial planning or Medicare options. Parties. Movies. Blood pressure screening or flu shots. Find companionship, and a community.

A Senior Center lecture draws a typical full house.

Our Senior Center is one of the most popular, well organized and best staffed in the country. But growth — up to 350 people a day — has created a critical need for enhancements.

In 2007, town planners predicted the Imperial Avenue center would run out of space in 2011. The recession forced improvements onto the back burner.

For the past 7 years, they’ve been part of the 5-year capital forecast. On Wednesday, May 17 (8 p.m., Town Hall), Senior Center representatives will ask for $3.9 million for enhancements.

Plans for the enhanced Senior Center. Click on or hover over to enlarge.

The Senior Center — run under the umbrella of the Human Services Department — has been around since the mid-1980s. Originally one room in the YMCA’s Bedford Building, it expanded when Greens Farms Elementary School closed (space there was shared with the Westport Arts Center).

When Greens Farms reopened, the Senior Center moved to a couple of rooms at Staples High School. The Imperial Avenue facility — built with strong support from First Selectman Dianne Farrell — opened in 2004. (“Ahead of schedule and under budget,” director Sue Pfister notes with pride.)

Much has changed since then. Closing hours were lengthened and Saturdays added, to accommodate seniors who still work.

Westport’s 60-plus population has risen dramatically — and they’re living longer.

As the Senior Center expanded its programming, more men and women attended more often.

There’s no more room for some activities. Four times a year, when registration opens for popular classes like yoga (gentle, regular and intense levels), the line forms at 6:30 a.m.

The small fitness area was filled to capacity on Saturday morning.

The other day, Pfister joined Enhancement Committee chair Lynn Goldberg and member Martha Aasen to explain the $3.9 million request.

There are 3 prongs.

One involves adding 4,500 square feet, offering:

  • More room for existing and new programs.
  • Space to socialize. “Many people meet friends here; they don’t go to each other’s homes nowadays,” Pfister says.
  • Meals to go (the Center serves 11,000 lunches a year — but for some seniors it’s their only real meal of the day).
  • Flexibility to adapt to changing future needs. “There’s a whole group of ‘new elders’ coming down the line,” 87-year-old Aasen notes.

(From left): Martha Aasen, Lynn Goldberg and Sue Pfister. Fitness equipment is stored in the hallway, because there’s no room anywhere else.

The 2nd element is parking and transportation. “If people can’t get here, our great programs are worthless,” Goldberg notes. For popular events, people now park as far away as Colonial Green.

“Senior-friendly” enhancements include more spots closer to the entrance, eliminating inclines, and adding ramps.

The 3rd category is “building tweaks.” This includes flashing work, making the front doors easier to use, adapting the computer room to the increase in laptops, and repositioning the fitness room so it opens onto walking trails on Baron’s South. (Parks and Recreation director Jen Fava is a member of the Enhancement Committee.)

A rendering of the proposed Senior Center building.

The Senior Center is a Westport jewel. And it’s not just for seniors.

Pfister is a huge proponent of intergenerational activities. Staples students volunteer there (one particularly popular activity: iPhone and iPad training). STAR delivers meals. The Senior Center often partners with the Library and other town organizations to sponsor programs.

“Mixing generations together helps reduce cognitive decline,” Pfister says. “And younger people get a lot out of interacting with older ones.”

A young volunteer at the annual lobster/clambake. The Senior Center serves 11,000 meals a year. For some, it’s their only real meal of the day. The proposed enhancement would enable the addition of “grab-and-go” meals.

She is excited about a new, upcoming activity. Suzuki has offered to run a course. Pfister must decide between violin or voice lessons.

Why not both? I ask.

“There’s no room,” she says.

Not now, anyway.

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