Guest Opinion | Akila Gibbs: The Pasadena Senior Center is Rising to the Pandemic Challenge

The year 2020 is the 60th anniversary of the Pasadena Senior Center. Our diamond anniversary year began with a plan for dozens of celebratory events and activities throughout the year, and that plan came to a screeching halt just two months later when our entire focus shifted from celebration to challenge. 

Like so many other nonprofits during these trying times, the future of the Pasadena Senior Center is at risk. Some of our revenue streams are in very real danger of drying up and others have come to an end completely until further notice. For example, we cannot rent out the facility for wedding receptions, professional conferences and other special third-party events that take place just about every weekend and many weeknights. This was one of our most lucrative revenue streams. There is a reserve fund, but it would be foolhardy to let that become depleted. 

This center is an independent, donor-supported nonprofit that is not operated by the City of Pasadena, and we do not receive government funding. Throughout our history, we have been dependent on individual donations as well as foundation and corporate contributions. Now that we are in this pandemic, the revenue stream of donations is just a small fraction of what it was before the pandemic hit. 

Throughout our history, we have always answered the call whenever our programs and services were in jeopardy. While the board of directors and I appreciate donations during the pandemic from the bottoms of our hearts, we really encourage individual donors to dig a little deeper by making recurring monthly donations that will help us continue to respond to urgent needs and stay in business for the long haul. Giving is simple: Just go to www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org and click on the orange Donate button.   

While most other senior centers in the U.S. have had to close until further notice, the Pasadena Senior Center has been ahead of the curve when it comes to the continued provision of services and programs. We’re just doing it differently. Most events, social hours, classes and other activities are virtual via Zoom and are available to members as well as non-members of the center. Participants do not have to live in Pasadena. Older adults have told us they will want some form of online activities after the pandemic is over.  

People in every income bracket look to the center for activities, social services and other support, even more because of the pandemic. If someone is lonesome, depressed or anxious, it doesn’t matter what their income is. 

However, we cannot ignore the fact that 16 percent of older adults in Pasadena live below the poverty line, and food insecurity is a big issue. The center provides more than 11,000 boxes of food monthly and hot meals weekly for income-qualified people who have registered for these services. In addition, we have an onsite food and hygiene-product pantry that is accessed mostly by homeless older adults, the fastest growing age group for homelessness.  

Holiday celebrations will be honored this year virtually via Zoom as well. Thanksgiving food will be delivered to low-income older adults the night before, and they will be invited to log into Zoom on Thanksgiving Day to celebrate with others. Pasadena Senior Center staff and volunteers will call 2,000 people of all income levels to wish them a happy Thanksgiving and assess their well-being. Christmas will be celebrated on Christmas Day for people in all income levels, and we are in the process of planning a very special Zoom celebration for that beloved American tradition as well.  

One interesting takeaway from this pandemic experience has been our pleasant surprise that so many older adults are Internet-savvy. Tech literacy is a new skill for many of them that may last long after quarantine orders are lifted. 

Even with Zoom activities in place, isolation, loneliness and depression are among my biggest concerns for many in our older adult population. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 14 million Americans over the age of 65 live by themselves, and these are the people who are most at risk.  

Before the pandemic, about 400 people had signed up for our Telephone Reassurance program in which volunteers reach out by phone to them regularly. Now that number has skyrocketed to about 6,000. This program helps us assess the wellness and welfare of those who have signed up.  

It is impossible to know when our lives will go back to normal, or a new normal, but I am confident that, with the community’s generosity, the Pasadena Senior Center will come out the other side of this crisis to improve the quality of life of the older adults we serve. 

Akila Gibbs is the executive director of the Pasadena Senior Center.