June 27, 2024 • 28 mins
In episode 47 of Advice From Your Advocates Podcast, Host Attorney Bob Mannor interviews Holly Burgess from the Swartz Creek Senior Center and Greg Matheson from the Flushing Senior Center. They discuss the importance of senior centers in the community and how they connect seniors to services and resources. They also talk about the role of senior centers in enhancing the lives of retired individuals and seniors with memory loss. The conversation highlights upcoming events and programs at the senior centers and emphasizes the need for support and awareness of the Genesee County Senior Millage.
Episode Takeaways
* Senior centers play a critical role in the community by connecting seniors to services and resources.
* Senior centers enhance the lives of retired individuals and seniors by providing opportunities for physical and mental well-being.
* Senior centers offer a variety of programs and events, including exercise classes, educational seminars, and social activities.
* Senior centers can support individuals with memory loss through support groups, educational programs, and collaboration with community partners.
* The Genesee County Senior Millage provides funding for senior centers and a wide range of services and support mechanisms for seniors.
Watch the full episode here or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Find more episodes on our website: www.mannorlawgroup.com/podcast
Swartz Creek Senior Center: https://myscasc.org/
Flushing Senior Center: https://www.flushingseniorcenter.com/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Advice from your Advocates, a
show where we provide elder lawadvice to professionals who work
with the elderly and theirfamilies.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to Advice from your Advocates.
I'm Bob Manor, I'm a certifiedelder law attorney in Michigan
and today we have a reallyinteresting podcast.
Today we've got Holly Burgessfrom the Swartz Creek Senior
Center and Greg Matheson fromthe Flushing Senior Center here
in Genesee County.
So welcome, thank you.
(00:31):
Thank you.
Can you guys both just kind ofstart by introducing yourselves,
what your role is, and tell usa little bit about your senior
centers?
Holly, you want to go first.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Yes, I will.
So my name is Holly and I amthe the program coordinator at
the Sports Creek Senior Center.
So my main tasks are to planour daily monthly special event
programming.
I do a lot of our communityengagement.
I go to chamber meetings andmeet different partners in our
community.
I do a lot of our marketing andnewsletter.
(01:05):
I do a little bit of everythingevery day.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I'm Greg Matheson.
I'm the director at theFlushing Area Senior Center,
sort of hitting off what Hollymentioned.
In terms of my role, I do alittle bit of everything.
I oversee programming, Ioversee finance, budgets,
payroll, with a total staff offour.
You know we do everything weset up for programming.
(01:29):
We answer phone calls, we servelunches, and so you know we're
here to serve all our seniors ina variety of ways.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
So most of our listeners know that I work a lot
with the aging population, thatI work a lot with the aging
population and I know very wellhow critically important senior
centers are.
But I'd like both of you tokind of just address the
importance of the senior centerin the community and how
(01:58):
important it is for some seniorsin their interaction with
others, their interaction withthe community.
So why don't we start with you,Greg?
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Well, in terms of the role that the Senior Center
here in Flushing plays, you know, I think it's huge.
Right now we have acareer-inactive membership of
1,835 members.
Those are members who have comeinto our doors over the past
(02:34):
calendar year.
Those are members who have comeinto our doors over the past
calendar year.
You know.
With that said, we also realizethat is a fraction of all the
and events, but also collaboratewith a number of different
community partners that canprovide assistance to our
members.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
But in the other way we can help promote the
wonderful services that theyoffer as well.
That's great.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
How about you, Holly?
Anything to add to that?
No, I think.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Greg said that perfectly.
So Greg said something aboutworking with community partners
and I think that's reallyimportant.
Do you want to address that?
How Swartz Creek Senior Centeris able to connect people to
some of the services they needand connect them to their
community?
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Yeah, so at the Swartz Creek Senior Center we
work with a variety of differentcommunity partners.
Some of them provide servicesthat they're expertise on, some
of them provide educationalseminars and some just come and
volunteer and really spread theword of our center, which is
great, and I enjoy working withthem and spreading what they can
offer.
For example, you heard thelegal services of Eastern
(03:48):
Michigan and, yes, they aregreat.
They provide free legalservices for those for 60 or
older.
We also work with AARP, whoprovides Medicaid, medicare and
tax services, which is a greatcommunity partner for us.
They do different seminars.
We have, like the medical teams, supports a lot of our special
(04:12):
events.
They help volunteer and theyalso provide us a brief support
group.
So I enjoy having a variety ofdifferent people around, because
you hear a lot of the timesthey say I didn't know that was
available in our community or Ididn't know that they had this
service, and then they go andmake those connections with our
seniors.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So I'm going to mention to you about Eastern
Michigan Legal Services.
We're really pretty lucky tohave them in our community, so
we're often going to bereferring people out for legal
services if they're notnecessarily appropriate for our
services, and so we'll get callsfrom different areas in the
state and it's not always soobvious what the legal services
(04:55):
can provide.
And Eastern Michigan LegalServices does a great job of
explaining exactly what they cando for you, being available for
it and it's, you know, coveredunder the Genesee County Mellon.
So we you know that that can behandled.
So it's nice to have thatresource where we know we can
send them there and they'll getquality legal services, because
(05:18):
in other areas of the state it'snot quite so obvious.
There's supposed to be legalservices available for everybody
in the state of Michigan butit's not quite so obvious where
to send them.
In other parts folks are thatare coming into the Senior
Center to access your services.
What age range are we lookingat typically?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
You know, technically , for the large majority of
events and programmings we have,it's available to anyone who's
50 and older who resides inGenesee County.
There are a couple services orprograms.
It was mentioned legal services.
Just based on the verbiagewithin the millage, you need to
be six years older.
For lunch, if you are 60 andolder, we only ask for a $3
(06:20):
donation.
If you're between 50 and 59,'sa mandatory six dollar cost.
In terms of the demographicsand having looked at those
numbers recently, uh, I wouldsay the bulk of our membership
is in the range of 65 to 85, butof course, we have members as
(06:40):
young as 50 and we have members,uh, who are as old as 100.
We celebrated the 100thbirthday of one of our members a
few weeks ago, a former busdriver of ours.
That would fall within thatrange 65 to 85.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
That's great.
What would you say and this isfor either of you kind of walk
me through your typical day atthe Senior Center.
So if I'm a senior in yourcommunity and I want to start
looking at getting more activein my community, get active in
the Senior Center, is itdifferent every day?
(07:16):
Do we have certain things thathappen every day?
What does the typical day looklike?
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah, so at the Swartz Creek Senior Center
center every day is a littledifferent, but I would say the
majority of days.
We start our morning with yogaand then we have different
exercise classes, generally inthe morning, and then, as we get
further in the afternoon, weusually have an educational
seminar and lunch.
Every day we do do differentcard groups.
(07:45):
We have clubs like knitting andcrochet, card making, jewelry
making for those who are crafty,and then in the evenings we're
open until 8 pm Monday throughThursday.
So in the evenings we usuallyhave card groups or on special
occasions we'll have dinners.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And how would someone that wants to get involved and
start maybe playing cards orcoming to the crochet group or
something like that?
What's the best way to initiatethat interaction, greg?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
First off, either stop by For us.
Our normal work hours are 8 to4.
They can stop by or they cancall us.
They can reach out to usthrough Messenger, email us just
to get some of the initialinformation.
For us it's a matter of fillingout a participation form, a
liability form.
There are no mandatory dues.
(08:44):
So joining us, there'stypically always someone
available who can provide a tourof the center, answer any of
the questions they have and thenget them underway.
I also want to remind all ofthe listeners too if you are 50
and older and reside in GeneseeCounty, you have to come to
Flushing to sign up for amembership.
You have access to all 16senior centers across the county
(09:06):
.
You have access to all 16senior centers across the county
and that's really importantbecause there are a lot of great
and unique programs, includingSwartz Creek, that may be
offered outside of what youwould call your home center.
So you know that's important topass on.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
That's really important.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
The variety of options is one of the things
that I think can really behelpful, for I think that one of
the main things that themajority of our members come for
is one increasing theirphysical activity, which can be
really hard to do on your own,even as a young person, and so
it's really nice to have a groupof people that you come with
(10:04):
once a week, twice a week, andincrease your physical
well-being.
And then also having theseeducational seminars in
different groups where you'relearning something new every day
, really increases your mentalhealth as well.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
So a lot of the people that listen to this
podcast work in the long-termcare industry a bit and you know
we have some social workers andthings like that that might be
listening.
How does the Senior Center workwith or help get information
out about long-term care andwhen you know when we need to
(10:42):
start looking at, maybe bringinghelp into the home or looking
at you know senior communitiesand things like that.
How does this?
How can the senior centersparticipate in that conversation
?
Speaker 3 (10:54):
You know, for the senior center it requires us to
be willing to be open andcollaborative with a number of
these different agents.
You know, whether we happen toreach out to them we hear about
a program or a service or theyreach out to us we need to be
willing to allow them into thecenter and promote, promote,
promote, whatever thepresentation may be, to
(11:18):
encourage participation with it,helps do research on different
independent living agenciesaround the county.
He did a nice presentation onthat.
So if and when our members areready to move out of their home
(11:41):
and look into a residence suchas that, he can do the legwork
on it and set up theappointments, things of that
nature.
But I've been here four yearsand, as I've come to find out,
Genesee County has just a widerange of services and support
mechanisms.
It really requires all thecenters to be willing to
(12:03):
collaborate with those agenciesto help spread the word and get
the word out, knowing ourmembership is going to benefit
from it.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
My law practice.
We have, for the last few years, started saying that we're a
dementia-focused practice, andthe reason why we've said that
is because, well, we've beenhelping people with dealing with
long-term care and findingresources and finding sources of
payment for long-term care.
And finding resources andfinding sources of payment for
long-term care we noticedseveral years ago that the
(12:34):
majority of those folks thatneed that have some form of
memory loss or dementia.
And so I was talking to anotherguest on the podcast a few
weeks ago and they have anorganization where they provide
physical therapy, occupationaltherapy, for neurodegenerative
(12:55):
diseases like dementia, and hementioned that sometimes when
people get that diagnosis, theytend to close in, in other words
, they go home, they stopinteracting with the community,
they don't even seek out thoseservices like the occupational
therapy and things to help themadapt to this diagnosis, and
(13:17):
I've noticed a memory loss.
Are they still included in thesenior center?
Are there going to beactivities for them?
Obviously, there's a point atwhich maybe they would need more
supervision than that, but thespan of dementia can go
(13:40):
everywhere, from hey just kindof forgetting where I put my
keys every day to not being ableto interact at all keys every
day to not being able tointeract at all, and so on those
early stages, how do the seniorcenters interact with that and
what can families kind of lookto for the senior centers to be
able to actually maybe extendthat quality of life of that
period of time where they arestill very interactive with
(14:03):
others and maybe can even helpwith the memory because of that
interaction with others?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I'll start, if that's okay, Ali.
You know there's a few programsin place for us.
We have a Dimeja support groupmeets monthly with the
facilitator, Dawn Schroeder doesa wonderful job, and it's not
just in terms of seeking thesupport of Dawn and those who
attend the meetings, but alsohaving Dawn provide them with
(14:34):
some paths to get some of theadditional support they need.
Baaa also offers a number ofworkshops related to dementia
and helping the caregiver havethe proper tools to help provide
the support of a loved friendor loved one.
The AAA also can offer avariety of resources for those
(14:56):
who are experiencing dementia.
There's been many times, I'msure in Swartz Creek too, where
we have some very independentengaged members who we find out
have been recently diagnosed.
I can think of one who was apretty regular participant here
is no longer able to drive, sowe are able to provide him with
the transportation within theschool district boundaries for
(15:18):
various appointments.
Now that he's not able to dothat, Wow that's great For those
listeners that don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Vaaa is, that's the local area agency on aging.
So it's in here.
It's called Valley Area Agencyon Aging and everywhere in the
United States should be have anarea agency on aging that covers
their territory.
So that's not just for Michiganor Jesse County, that's
everywhere in the United States.
Holly, did you have anycomments on working with seniors
(15:46):
with some memory loss?
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Yeah, like Greg said, we are very excited to now have
an Alzheimer's supportrestarting monthly in July.
We're excited to have that now.
We also work with the AAA withdifferent series and seminars
and resources for caregivers andthose who are recently
diagnosed with dementia.
We just recently had a savvycaregiver class which is like a
(16:09):
six-week series for caregiversand those who are recently
diagnosed with dementia.
We just recently had a savvycaregiver class which is like a
six-week series for caregiversand I think a lot of that covers
dementia care.
We really try to make ourprograms accessible to everybody
, even in the later stages thatyou need a caregiver to come
with you to participate and youcan just do, maybe chair
exercises once a week.
(16:30):
Um, that's something we reallyencourage because physical
health, as much as you can do,increases your mental health and
your your overall well-being oflife.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
I I think I have seen here so you both mentioned the
caregiver support group fordementia.
We had someone from theAlzheimer's Association on the
podcast a while ago and theyhave so many services to the
Alzheimer's Association.
But one of the ones that Ithink a lot of people appreciate
(17:00):
are these caregiver supportgroups.
One, and it provides a realnice service because everybody
you know if you're a caregiverfor someone with Alzheimer's,
there's just a lot of stressthat comes with that and having
the ability to cooperate withothers and be able to talk and
(17:21):
get resources from others insimilar circumstances.
I think that's just a reallynice thing that the Senior
Centers and the Alzheimer'sAssociation does.
I actually this is a reallygood question that I had sent
you guys about how do you seesenior centers evolving in the
future?
Here, you know, everythingseems to have changed since
(17:44):
COVID, right?
And yet the senior centers arestill thriving, and so do you
see any changes in the comingyears?
Do you see any sort of evolvingexpectations for senior centers
in the future?
Speaker 3 (17:59):
You know, when I saw that question, the first thing
that came to mind for us isassisting our seniors in staying
up with how to be tech savvy,meeting those technology needs
that really came to lightespecially during the pandemic.
For a great example, memberscalling when they were starting
(18:25):
up the booster shots, the COVIDbooster shots If you wanted to
do that, 99% of the time you hadto go online, whether that was
through a local drugstore orthrough the health department,
and so we provided quite a bitof one-on-one assistance for
that.
But also find ways in which thetechnology is not always
(18:50):
required.
For example, at the boostershots, we decide to collaborate
with a local pharmacy and thenjust offer face-to-face
appointments and making thesign-up process that much easier
.
Having said that, realizingthat utilizing a smartphone,
tablet or computer in terms ofaccessing resources or whatever
it is you need work, it will berequired.
(19:13):
We're fortunate enough to havetwo volunteers who offer tech
tutoring anywhere from two tofour times a month for half of
our appointments free of charge.
One of the gentlemen, ryancacadary, who is affiliated with
the genesee district library,also offers work technology
workshops, and that could be arange of different topics.
(19:34):
He offers those free of chargeto us and our membership here at
the center, and we have justfound that to be very, very
beneficial.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
You know that's really great and I think that
that tells you something aboutthe folks that come to senior
centers.
And you know there's this youknow some people imagine that
seniors are once you retire andthey slow down and they start
engaging in less things.
But at least the ones that cometo the senior centers are
(20:05):
definitely active and involved,are taking classes, and I think
that's really important forhealth, for your mind, for your
body and everything, and so it'salways fun visiting the senior
centers and just seeing howactive everybody is and how
engaged everybody is in thedifferent options that are there
(20:25):
.
It's one of the things that Ireally promote, and sometimes
I'm working with a family thathas a senior that is less
engaged.
Maybe they're not getting outvery often and they're
encouraging their parent.
Do you have any advice forfamilies you know that have
parents that they would like toget more engaged into the senior
(20:45):
centers?
Advice for the kids in helpingto recommend to their parents to
get involved, to recommend totheir parents to get involved.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Yeah, I think what I always recommend is when they
come in and ask me forinformation that children do and
I say, well, what did theyenjoy doing in the past?
Did they like playing cards?
Are they knitters or crocheters?
Do they like pizza parties?
What are they going to beinterested in?
And then, looking at ournewsletter, what we offer,
(21:20):
because it's easier to suggest.
You know you used to play cards.
Why don't you go out once aweek and play euchre?
Or oh, you just really want tobe around people, so let's plan
to go to like a holiday luncheon.
You know you got to ease themin.
You can't just offer all ofthese things at one time.
It can be very overwhelming forsomebody who is just starting
(21:40):
to be more engaged, especiallyafter COVID, when we've been
isolated for so long.
I definitely recommend see whatthey used to do.
I recommend that they startthat one thing up again and then
we'll just introduce them toeverything else.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
That's great.
I want to give both of you anopportunity to talk about any
upcoming events that you havescheduled at either the Swartz
Creek Senior Center or theFlushing Senior Center.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Well, we offer on average monthly.
We offer about 50 differentevents and programs each month
Over 90% of those.
On average, too, there's noadditional out-of-pocket costs.
A large majority of ouroperational costs are funded
(22:27):
through the senior village.
In terms of upcoming eventsthat are taking place this
summer, we have an aqua aerobicsclass.
We're teaming up with FlushingValley and meeting every
Wednesday morning for aquaaerobics.
That's funded through a grant,and our instructor is doing an
outstanding job there, and so wehave up to 30 members who are
(22:50):
jumping in that pool everyWednesday at 10 am.
A program that we just gotunderway with is something we
call a story of our lives, andthat's we're teaming up with
Flushing High School staff andstudents and actually doing a
video interview of a particulartime in their life.
It's something we're recordingand then sharing out with the
(23:12):
public and also offering thosestories on a link on our website
.
We've had a lot of positivefeedback on that.
A program that just gotunderway is Senior Astronomers,
and we're teaming up, I think,with five different senior
centers, including Swartz Creek.
One of our members, Bob Crenn,is offering a monthly meeting
and then also setting up timefor evening viewings for our
(23:38):
senior astronomers and then,finally, a program that's just
gotten underway too is fieldsketch, journaling and going out
into different parks and paths.
We have a member who happens tobe a botanist and is this is
her forte, and going out andframe this for our fellow
(24:00):
artists who want to trysomething different.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
So that's fantastic.
I love how you're incorporatingthe expertise of your members
and designing some of yourprograms around that expertise.
I think that's fantastic.
How about you, holly?
What upcoming programs orevents do you have coming?
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Yeah, so with just seminars and monthly events,
like Greg said, a lot of ourprogramming is free or very
little out-of-pocket costs.
We recently just partnered upwith the Alzheimer's Association
to do educational programs,which I'm very excited about I
think our first one's this monthand we scheduled them out until
September or October everymonth.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
That's great.
One of the things I wanted tocircle back to, craig had
mentioned the Genesee CountySenior Millage and that the
senior centers all of them getsome of their funding through
that.
I did want to point out thatthere is a renewal of that
Genesee County Senior Mill, soit's not an increase but it's a
renewal, and the vote is August5th and I just decided to print
(25:04):
off the long list of things thatthat supports.
So not only does it support thesenior centers, there's a
program for adult daycare forfolks that might need that, case
management through Valley AreaAgents and Aging.
It helps address some of theelder abuse and exploitation and
preventing elder abuse andexploitation through the Genesee
(25:24):
County Sheriff's Office.
It's helped through the FamilyService Agency for guardianships
and conservatorships.
Home-delivered meals throughthe Genesee County Community
Action Resource Department.
In-home personal care andhomemaking services through the
Family Services Agency andalternative elderly care,
in-home respite care throughMichigan Community Services.
(25:45):
This goes on and on.
We talked about the legalservices through Legal Services
of Eastern Michigan,interpreting services for the
deaf and hard of hearing, longcare and snow maintenance
through St Luke's New LifeCenter.
Medical transportation serviceswith the liaison from the
Family Service Agency.
Ramp construction for theDisability Network.
It goes on and on and on.
(26:06):
It's really a fantastic programand something that I highly
support.
It's been a blessing to thesenior residents of Genesee
County.
I know that I really feel likeit's something that I know other
counties do this, but if ifyou're in a county that doesn't
have such a senior millage, youmay want to look into Genesee
(26:29):
County, because we've had it forfor at least a few election
cycles now and it's a reallyfantastic program that supports
so many things that arebeneficial to our community.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
I have just one clarification it's Tuesday
August 6th.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Did I have it written right?
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Okay, thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
I said the 5th, but it's actually the 6th and it was
probably.
I couldn't even read my ownhandwriting, so thank you for
that clarification.
And it was probably.
I couldn't even read my ownhandwriting, so thank you for
that clarification.
So I would just want toencourage everybody to check out
their local senior centers, getinvolved, see if you can do
anything to help promote oradvance the work of the senior
(27:09):
centers and their cooperativepartners and things like that.
Any other thoughts that eitherof you have for our audience
before we finish up for today?
Speaker 3 (27:20):
I guess my only thoughts are please help get the
word out.
You know, along Swords Creekand the 14 other senior centers,
it's our goal to get as muchparticipation as possible.
We have a very high demographicin this county of eligible
seniors.
I'm still assuming there's anumber of seniors who do not
(27:43):
realize either that theseprograms exist, these centers
exist and the amount ofprogramming that is available in
all 16 senior centers and howmuch their lives will benefit
improve just coming out engagingothers being a part of all the
wonderful programming andservices each of them have to
(28:04):
offer.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Well said.
So thank you, Holly and Greg,for coming on to the podcast,
but also for all that you do forour community.
If you've enjoyed this podcastand you want to know when we
have another one come out, youcan do for our community.
If you've enjoyed this podcastand you want to know when we
have another one come out, youcan subscribe to our podcast at
anywhere that you listen topodcasts.
Just look for advice from youradvocates and we'll talk to you
(28:26):
next time.
You're listening to Advice from your Advocates, a
show where we provide elder lawadvice to professionals who work
with the elderly and theirfamilies.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to Advice from your Advocates.
I'm Bob Manor, I'm a certifiedelder law attorney in Michigan
and today we have a reallyinteresting podcast.
Today we've got Holly Burgessfrom the Swartz Creek Senior
Center and Greg Matheson fromthe Flushing Senior Center here
in Genesee County.
So welcome, thank you.
(00:31):
Thank you.
Can you guys both just kind ofstart by introducing yourselves,
what your role is, and tell usa little bit about your senior
centers?
Holly, you want to go first.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Yes, I will.
So my name is Holly and I amthe the program coordinator at
the Sports Creek Senior Center.
So my main tasks are to planour daily monthly special event
programming.
I do a lot of our communityengagement.
I go to chamber meetings andmeet different partners in our
community.
I do a lot of our marketing andnewsletter.
(01:05):
I do a little bit of everythingevery day.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I'm Greg Matheson.
I'm the director at theFlushing Area Senior Center,
sort of hitting off what Hollymentioned.
In terms of my role, I do alittle bit of everything.
I oversee programming, Ioversee finance, budgets,
payroll, with a total staff offour.
You know we do everything weset up for programming.
(01:29):
We answer phone calls, we servelunches, and so you know we're
here to serve all our seniors ina variety of ways.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
So most of our listeners know that I work a lot
with the aging population, thatI work a lot with the aging
population and I know very wellhow critically important senior
centers are.
But I'd like both of you tokind of just address the
importance of the senior centerin the community and how
(01:58):
important it is for some seniorsin their interaction with
others, their interaction withthe community.
So why don't we start with you,Greg?
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Well, in terms of the role that the Senior Center
here in Flushing plays, you know, I think it's huge.
Right now we have acareer-inactive membership of
1,835 members.
Those are members who have comeinto our doors over the past
(02:34):
calendar year.
Those are members who have comeinto our doors over the past
calendar year.
You know.
With that said, we also realizethat is a fraction of all the
and events, but also collaboratewith a number of different
community partners that canprovide assistance to our
members.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
But in the other way we can help promote the
wonderful services that theyoffer as well.
That's great.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
How about you, Holly?
Anything to add to that?
No, I think.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Greg said that perfectly.
So Greg said something aboutworking with community partners
and I think that's reallyimportant.
Do you want to address that?
How Swartz Creek Senior Centeris able to connect people to
some of the services they needand connect them to their
community?
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Yeah, so at the Swartz Creek Senior Center we
work with a variety of differentcommunity partners.
Some of them provide servicesthat they're expertise on, some
of them provide educationalseminars and some just come and
volunteer and really spread theword of our center, which is
great, and I enjoy working withthem and spreading what they can
offer.
For example, you heard thelegal services of Eastern
(03:48):
Michigan and, yes, they aregreat.
They provide free legalservices for those for 60 or
older.
We also work with AARP, whoprovides Medicaid, medicare and
tax services, which is a greatcommunity partner for us.
They do different seminars.
We have, like the medical teams, supports a lot of our special
(04:12):
events.
They help volunteer and theyalso provide us a brief support
group.
So I enjoy having a variety ofdifferent people around, because
you hear a lot of the timesthey say I didn't know that was
available in our community or Ididn't know that they had this
service, and then they go andmake those connections with our
seniors.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So I'm going to mention to you about Eastern
Michigan Legal Services.
We're really pretty lucky tohave them in our community, so
we're often going to bereferring people out for legal
services if they're notnecessarily appropriate for our
services, and so we'll get callsfrom different areas in the
state and it's not always soobvious what the legal services
(04:55):
can provide.
And Eastern Michigan LegalServices does a great job of
explaining exactly what they cando for you, being available for
it and it's, you know, coveredunder the Genesee County Mellon.
So we you know that that can behandled.
So it's nice to have thatresource where we know we can
send them there and they'll getquality legal services, because
(05:18):
in other areas of the state it'snot quite so obvious.
There's supposed to be legalservices available for everybody
in the state of Michigan butit's not quite so obvious where
to send them.
In other parts folks are thatare coming into the Senior
Center to access your services.
What age range are we lookingat typically?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
You know, technically , for the large majority of
events and programmings we have,it's available to anyone who's
50 and older who resides inGenesee County.
There are a couple services orprograms.
It was mentioned legal services.
Just based on the verbiagewithin the millage, you need to
be six years older.
For lunch, if you are 60 andolder, we only ask for a $3
(06:20):
donation.
If you're between 50 and 59,'sa mandatory six dollar cost.
In terms of the demographicsand having looked at those
numbers recently, uh, I wouldsay the bulk of our membership
is in the range of 65 to 85, butof course, we have members as
(06:40):
young as 50 and we have members,uh, who are as old as 100.
We celebrated the 100thbirthday of one of our members a
few weeks ago, a former busdriver of ours.
That would fall within thatrange 65 to 85.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
That's great.
What would you say and this isfor either of you kind of walk
me through your typical day atthe Senior Center.
So if I'm a senior in yourcommunity and I want to start
looking at getting more activein my community, get active in
the Senior Center, is itdifferent every day?
(07:16):
Do we have certain things thathappen every day?
What does the typical day looklike?
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah, so at the Swartz Creek Senior Center
center every day is a littledifferent, but I would say the
majority of days.
We start our morning with yogaand then we have different
exercise classes, generally inthe morning, and then, as we get
further in the afternoon, weusually have an educational
seminar and lunch.
Every day we do do differentcard groups.
(07:45):
We have clubs like knitting andcrochet, card making, jewelry
making for those who are crafty,and then in the evenings we're
open until 8 pm Monday throughThursday.
So in the evenings we usuallyhave card groups or on special
occasions we'll have dinners.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And how would someone that wants to get involved and
start maybe playing cards orcoming to the crochet group or
something like that?
What's the best way to initiatethat interaction, greg?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
First off, either stop by For us.
Our normal work hours are 8 to4.
They can stop by or they cancall us.
They can reach out to usthrough Messenger, email us just
to get some of the initialinformation.
For us it's a matter of fillingout a participation form, a
liability form.
There are no mandatory dues.
(08:44):
So joining us, there'stypically always someone
available who can provide a tourof the center, answer any of
the questions they have and thenget them underway.
I also want to remind all ofthe listeners too if you are 50
and older and reside in GeneseeCounty, you have to come to
Flushing to sign up for amembership.
You have access to all 16senior centers across the county
(09:06):
.
You have access to all 16senior centers across the county
and that's really importantbecause there are a lot of great
and unique programs, includingSwartz Creek, that may be
offered outside of what youwould call your home center.
So you know that's important topass on.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
That's really important.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
The variety of options is one of the things
that I think can really behelpful, for I think that one of
the main things that themajority of our members come for
is one increasing theirphysical activity, which can be
really hard to do on your own,even as a young person, and so
it's really nice to have a groupof people that you come with
(10:04):
once a week, twice a week, andincrease your physical
well-being.
And then also having theseeducational seminars in
different groups where you'relearning something new every day
, really increases your mentalhealth as well.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
So a lot of the people that listen to this
podcast work in the long-termcare industry a bit and you know
we have some social workers andthings like that that might be
listening.
How does the Senior Center workwith or help get information
out about long-term care andwhen you know when we need to
(10:42):
start looking at, maybe bringinghelp into the home or looking
at you know senior communitiesand things like that.
How does this?
How can the senior centersparticipate in that conversation
?
Speaker 3 (10:54):
You know, for the senior center it requires us to
be willing to be open andcollaborative with a number of
these different agents.
You know, whether we happen toreach out to them we hear about
a program or a service or theyreach out to us we need to be
willing to allow them into thecenter and promote, promote,
promote, whatever thepresentation may be, to
(11:18):
encourage participation with it,helps do research on different
independent living agenciesaround the county.
He did a nice presentation onthat.
So if and when our members areready to move out of their home
(11:41):
and look into a residence suchas that, he can do the legwork
on it and set up theappointments, things of that
nature.
But I've been here four yearsand, as I've come to find out,
Genesee County has just a widerange of services and support
mechanisms.
It really requires all thecenters to be willing to
(12:03):
collaborate with those agenciesto help spread the word and get
the word out, knowing ourmembership is going to benefit
from it.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
My law practice.
We have, for the last few years, started saying that we're a
dementia-focused practice, andthe reason why we've said that
is because, well, we've beenhelping people with dealing with
long-term care and findingresources and finding sources of
payment for long-term care.
And finding resources andfinding sources of payment for
long-term care we noticedseveral years ago that the
(12:34):
majority of those folks thatneed that have some form of
memory loss or dementia.
And so I was talking to anotherguest on the podcast a few
weeks ago and they have anorganization where they provide
physical therapy, occupationaltherapy, for neurodegenerative
(12:55):
diseases like dementia, and hementioned that sometimes when
people get that diagnosis, theytend to close in, in other words
, they go home, they stopinteracting with the community,
they don't even seek out thoseservices like the occupational
therapy and things to help themadapt to this diagnosis, and
(13:17):
I've noticed a memory loss.
Are they still included in thesenior center?
Are there going to beactivities for them?
Obviously, there's a point atwhich maybe they would need more
supervision than that, but thespan of dementia can go
(13:40):
everywhere, from hey just kindof forgetting where I put my
keys every day to not being ableto interact at all keys every
day to not being able tointeract at all, and so on those
early stages, how do the seniorcenters interact with that and
what can families kind of lookto for the senior centers to be
able to actually maybe extendthat quality of life of that
period of time where they arestill very interactive with
(14:03):
others and maybe can even helpwith the memory because of that
interaction with others?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I'll start, if that's okay, Ali.
You know there's a few programsin place for us.
We have a Dimeja support groupmeets monthly with the
facilitator, Dawn Schroeder doesa wonderful job, and it's not
just in terms of seeking thesupport of Dawn and those who
attend the meetings, but alsohaving Dawn provide them with
(14:34):
some paths to get some of theadditional support they need.
Baaa also offers a number ofworkshops related to dementia
and helping the caregiver havethe proper tools to help provide
the support of a loved friendor loved one.
The AAA also can offer avariety of resources for those
(14:56):
who are experiencing dementia.
There's been many times, I'msure in Swartz Creek too, where
we have some very independentengaged members who we find out
have been recently diagnosed.
I can think of one who was apretty regular participant here
is no longer able to drive, sowe are able to provide him with
the transportation within theschool district boundaries for
(15:18):
various appointments.
Now that he's not able to dothat, Wow that's great For those
listeners that don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Vaaa is, that's the local area agency on aging.
So it's in here.
It's called Valley Area Agencyon Aging and everywhere in the
United States should be have anarea agency on aging that covers
their territory.
So that's not just for Michiganor Jesse County, that's
everywhere in the United States.
Holly, did you have anycomments on working with seniors
(15:46):
with some memory loss?
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Yeah, like Greg said, we are very excited to now have
an Alzheimer's supportrestarting monthly in July.
We're excited to have that now.
We also work with the AAA withdifferent series and seminars
and resources for caregivers andthose who are recently
diagnosed with dementia.
We just recently had a savvycaregiver class which is like a
(16:09):
six-week series for caregiversand those who are recently
diagnosed with dementia.
We just recently had a savvycaregiver class which is like a
six-week series for caregiversand I think a lot of that covers
dementia care.
We really try to make ourprograms accessible to everybody
, even in the later stages thatyou need a caregiver to come
with you to participate and youcan just do, maybe chair
exercises once a week.
(16:30):
Um, that's something we reallyencourage because physical
health, as much as you can do,increases your mental health and
your your overall well-being oflife.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
I I think I have seen here so you both mentioned the
caregiver support group fordementia.
We had someone from theAlzheimer's Association on the
podcast a while ago and theyhave so many services to the
Alzheimer's Association.
But one of the ones that Ithink a lot of people appreciate
(17:00):
are these caregiver supportgroups.
One, and it provides a realnice service because everybody
you know if you're a caregiverfor someone with Alzheimer's,
there's just a lot of stressthat comes with that and having
the ability to cooperate withothers and be able to talk and
(17:21):
get resources from others insimilar circumstances.
I think that's just a reallynice thing that the Senior
Centers and the Alzheimer'sAssociation does.
I actually this is a reallygood question that I had sent
you guys about how do you seesenior centers evolving in the
future?
Here, you know, everythingseems to have changed since
(17:44):
COVID, right?
And yet the senior centers arestill thriving, and so do you
see any changes in the comingyears?
Do you see any sort of evolvingexpectations for senior centers
in the future?
Speaker 3 (17:59):
You know, when I saw that question, the first thing
that came to mind for us isassisting our seniors in staying
up with how to be tech savvy,meeting those technology needs
that really came to lightespecially during the pandemic.
For a great example, memberscalling when they were starting
(18:25):
up the booster shots, the COVIDbooster shots If you wanted to
do that, 99% of the time you hadto go online, whether that was
through a local drugstore orthrough the health department,
and so we provided quite a bitof one-on-one assistance for
that.
But also find ways in which thetechnology is not always
(18:50):
required.
For example, at the boostershots, we decide to collaborate
with a local pharmacy and thenjust offer face-to-face
appointments and making thesign-up process that much easier
.
Having said that, realizingthat utilizing a smartphone,
tablet or computer in terms ofaccessing resources or whatever
it is you need work, it will berequired.
(19:13):
We're fortunate enough to havetwo volunteers who offer tech
tutoring anywhere from two tofour times a month for half of
our appointments free of charge.
One of the gentlemen, ryancacadary, who is affiliated with
the genesee district library,also offers work technology
workshops, and that could be arange of different topics.
(19:34):
He offers those free of chargeto us and our membership here at
the center, and we have justfound that to be very, very
beneficial.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
You know that's really great and I think that
that tells you something aboutthe folks that come to senior
centers.
And you know there's this youknow some people imagine that
seniors are once you retire andthey slow down and they start
engaging in less things.
But at least the ones that cometo the senior centers are
(20:05):
definitely active and involved,are taking classes, and I think
that's really important forhealth, for your mind, for your
body and everything, and so it'salways fun visiting the senior
centers and just seeing howactive everybody is and how
engaged everybody is in thedifferent options that are there
(20:25):
.
It's one of the things that Ireally promote, and sometimes
I'm working with a family thathas a senior that is less
engaged.
Maybe they're not getting outvery often and they're
encouraging their parent.
Do you have any advice forfamilies you know that have
parents that they would like toget more engaged into the senior
(20:45):
centers?
Advice for the kids in helpingto recommend to their parents to
get involved, to recommend totheir parents to get involved.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Yeah, I think what I always recommend is when they
come in and ask me forinformation that children do and
I say, well, what did theyenjoy doing in the past?
Did they like playing cards?
Are they knitters or crocheters?
Do they like pizza parties?
What are they going to beinterested in?
And then, looking at ournewsletter, what we offer,
(21:20):
because it's easier to suggest.
You know you used to play cards.
Why don't you go out once aweek and play euchre?
Or oh, you just really want tobe around people, so let's plan
to go to like a holiday luncheon.
You know you got to ease themin.
You can't just offer all ofthese things at one time.
It can be very overwhelming forsomebody who is just starting
(21:40):
to be more engaged, especiallyafter COVID, when we've been
isolated for so long.
I definitely recommend see whatthey used to do.
I recommend that they startthat one thing up again and then
we'll just introduce them toeverything else.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
That's great.
I want to give both of you anopportunity to talk about any
upcoming events that you havescheduled at either the Swartz
Creek Senior Center or theFlushing Senior Center.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Well, we offer on average monthly.
We offer about 50 differentevents and programs each month
Over 90% of those.
On average, too, there's noadditional out-of-pocket costs.
A large majority of ouroperational costs are funded
(22:27):
through the senior village.
In terms of upcoming eventsthat are taking place this
summer, we have an aqua aerobicsclass.
We're teaming up with FlushingValley and meeting every
Wednesday morning for aquaaerobics.
That's funded through a grant,and our instructor is doing an
outstanding job there, and so wehave up to 30 members who are
(22:50):
jumping in that pool everyWednesday at 10 am.
A program that we just gotunderway with is something we
call a story of our lives, andthat's we're teaming up with
Flushing High School staff andstudents and actually doing a
video interview of a particulartime in their life.
It's something we're recordingand then sharing out with the
(23:12):
public and also offering thosestories on a link on our website
.
We've had a lot of positivefeedback on that.
A program that just gotunderway is Senior Astronomers,
and we're teaming up, I think,with five different senior
centers, including Swartz Creek.
One of our members, Bob Crenn,is offering a monthly meeting
and then also setting up timefor evening viewings for our
(23:38):
senior astronomers and then,finally, a program that's just
gotten underway too is fieldsketch, journaling and going out
into different parks and paths.
We have a member who happens tobe a botanist and is this is
her forte, and going out andframe this for our fellow
(24:00):
artists who want to trysomething different.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
So that's fantastic.
I love how you're incorporatingthe expertise of your members
and designing some of yourprograms around that expertise.
I think that's fantastic.
How about you, holly?
What upcoming programs orevents do you have coming?
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Yeah, so with just seminars and monthly events,
like Greg said, a lot of ourprogramming is free or very
little out-of-pocket costs.
We recently just partnered upwith the Alzheimer's Association
to do educational programs,which I'm very excited about I
think our first one's this monthand we scheduled them out until
September or October everymonth.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
That's great.
One of the things I wanted tocircle back to, craig had
mentioned the Genesee CountySenior Millage and that the
senior centers all of them getsome of their funding through
that.
I did want to point out thatthere is a renewal of that
Genesee County Senior Mill, soit's not an increase but it's a
renewal, and the vote is August5th and I just decided to print
(25:04):
off the long list of things thatthat supports.
So not only does it support thesenior centers, there's a
program for adult daycare forfolks that might need that, case
management through Valley AreaAgents and Aging.
It helps address some of theelder abuse and exploitation and
preventing elder abuse andexploitation through the Genesee
(25:24):
County Sheriff's Office.
It's helped through the FamilyService Agency for guardianships
and conservatorships.
Home-delivered meals throughthe Genesee County Community
Action Resource Department.
In-home personal care andhomemaking services through the
Family Services Agency andalternative elderly care,
in-home respite care throughMichigan Community Services.
(25:45):
This goes on and on.
We talked about the legalservices through Legal Services
of Eastern Michigan,interpreting services for the
deaf and hard of hearing, longcare and snow maintenance
through St Luke's New LifeCenter.
Medical transportation serviceswith the liaison from the
Family Service Agency.
Ramp construction for theDisability Network.
It goes on and on and on.
(26:06):
It's really a fantastic programand something that I highly
support.
It's been a blessing to thesenior residents of Genesee
County.
I know that I really feel likeit's something that I know other
counties do this, but if ifyou're in a county that doesn't
have such a senior millage, youmay want to look into Genesee
(26:29):
County, because we've had it forfor at least a few election
cycles now and it's a reallyfantastic program that supports
so many things that arebeneficial to our community.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
I have just one clarification it's Tuesday
August 6th.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Did I have it written right?
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Okay, thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
I said the 5th, but it's actually the 6th and it was
probably.
I couldn't even read my ownhandwriting, so thank you for
that clarification.
And it was probably.
I couldn't even read my ownhandwriting, so thank you for
that clarification.
So I would just want toencourage everybody to check out
their local senior centers, getinvolved, see if you can do
anything to help promote oradvance the work of the senior
(27:09):
centers and their cooperativepartners and things like that.
Any other thoughts that eitherof you have for our audience
before we finish up for today?
Speaker 3 (27:20):
I guess my only thoughts are please help get the
word out.
You know, along Swords Creekand the 14 other senior centers,
it's our goal to get as muchparticipation as possible.
We have a very high demographicin this county of eligible
seniors.
I'm still assuming there's anumber of seniors who do not
(27:43):
realize either that theseprograms exist, these centers
exist and the amount ofprogramming that is available in
all 16 senior centers and howmuch their lives will benefit
improve just coming out engagingothers being a part of all the
wonderful programming andservices each of them have to
(28:04):
offer.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Well said.
So thank you, Holly and Greg,for coming on to the podcast,
but also for all that you do forour community.
If you've enjoyed this podcastand you want to know when we
have another one come out, youcan do for our community.
If you've enjoyed this podcastand you want to know when we
have another one come out, youcan subscribe to our podcast at
anywhere that you listen topodcasts.
Just look for advice from youradvocates and we'll talk to you
(28:26):
next time.
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