New Senior Center

It's shameful that El Cerrito does not have a senior center.

According to the US Census Bureau, 20% of El Cerrito's population of 26,000 residents are 65 years or older; 28% are 60 or over.

Every city along the San Pablo Avenue corridor—from Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley and Albany to the south, up through Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole and Hercules to the north—has at least one senior center, except El Cerrito. 

El Cerrito needs a senior center!

While other candidates have downplayed the need for a senior center—presumably because it's not viewed as a high priority given the city's financial struggles—I have been actively working with a grassroots committee of residents looking at creative, fiscally responsible ways to make it happen. We've shared with West County District 1 Supervisor John Gioia our hope for a partnership between the City of El Cerrito and Contra Costa County. An intriguing possibility is that a new center could be housed in an under-utilized county-owned building such as Veterans' Building on Stockton Avenue, perhaps with a few "adult education" programs funded by 2020's Measure X. Collaborating with the county could be a fiscally-responsible, practical solution that brings a senior center to El Cerrito without great cost to the city.

Why this is personal for me

Nineteen years ago, New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. I was living in Albany's UC Village. My 80-year-old mother, Virginia Ktsanes, was living in her New Orleans home of 40 years—my childhood home, a half mile from the Mississippi River.

My mom wasn't feeling well and choose not evacuate. Having weathered many hurricanes, she and her closest friend buckled down for the storm with bottled water, canned food, flashlights, batteries—the same things we put aside here for earthquakes. 

After a week without power—and with levees breached, floodwaters rising and the city besieged in chaos—they sucked on a hose, siphoned gas from one car to another, and drove out. They meandered around flooded streets, avoided downed power lines and fallen trees, went the wrong way down one-way streets, and safely made it out of the city.

Still not feeling well, my mom headed to Chicago where my cousin was a nurse. There she was diagnosed with mantel cell lymphoma, an aggressive and rare cancer. A few weeks later, she was living with me and my son in Albany and undergoing chemotherapy at UCSF.

My mom was very happy in New Orleans and had no desire to live in California. She'd be quick to tell you that she didn't like California. I assumed that as my mom aged, I would end up back in New Orleans to care for her. But that changed with Hurricane Katrina. Suddenly, my mom was with me in a rented home on Portland Avenue, a half block from Albany's Memorial Park.

Hurricane Katrina was particularly devastating for seniors. Everything my mom relied on was gone—the neighborhood coffee shop, the German bakery, a small bookstore that had been there my whole life, the corner grocery store, the farmers' market, her yoga class, her neighbors, her friends, her family... Just about everything that made it home. In the aftermath of Katrina, even hospitals were closed.

As much as my mom didn't want to move to California, she had no choice.

At age 80, my mom was a refugee. She was lonely, depressed, newly-diagnosed with cancer and 2,200 miles from home.

The Albany Senior Center saved her life

Walking around the neighborhood, my mom discovered the Albany Senior Center on Masonic Avenue. Reluctantly, she went inside. I remember one day her complaining about "the old fogies" and the next day telling me how interesting they were.

Why El Cerrito doesn't have a senior center

For decades, there was a dedicated senior center in El Cerrito in a West Contra County School District building behind the library on Stockton Avenue. The Open House Senior Center was open 5 days a week for residents to gather, socialize, take classes, access resources, enjoy meals and so much more. In 2018, due the school district's need for space, WCCCSD took back the building. The city relocated the senior center and some of its services to two leased portable buildings next to the police department on San Pablo Avenue and renamed them the El Cerrito Midtown Activity Center. 

Over the years, among the many senior services El Cerrito offered were an onsite resource specialist; Alzheimer's respite program; para transit services; a women's support group; peer counseling for Chinese-speakers; Lion's Center services for the visually impaired; health insurance counseling; income tax and will preparation help; Meals On Wheels and a nutritional lunch program; volunteering opportunities; local excursions and field trips; Tai Chi, chair, floor and other exercise classes; fall prevention and balance training; birding and hiking; Broadway/Old Time sing-a-longs; mahjong, chess and other board games; computer classes and free wi-fi; drawing, painting and other art classes; a visiting hairdresser, podiatrist and masseuse; guitar, piano and world folk dance lessons; memoir and creative writing workshops; and an organic community garden.

Virtually none of it remains.

Closed and not reopened

In March 2020, the two portable buildings were closed as part of a COVID-19 lockdown. A very small number of programs continued virtually and meals that had once been onsite were delivered to homes. When the lockdown was rescinded in fall, city leaders decided not to reopen the buildings or reinstate the senior services. 

The city council cut costs by eliminating one of the two portable buildings and raised revenue by leasing the other to the Kensington Police Department. The Community Center next to the swimming pool on Moeser Lane became home to just a handful of programs. The greatly reduced offerings do not begin to provide the same quantity or quality of services, programs and activities that a permanent, dedicated senior center could—and once did.

Like me, you may have passed by Hana Gardens next to city hall and seen the "Senior Center" marque over the door facing San Pablo Avenue. What's inside is nothing but an empty conference room leased out to whoever wants to use it. The El Cerrito Democratic Club, for example, uses it for their monthly meetings on Tuesday nights. El Cerrito residents can rent the room for private events for $112 per hour, and non-residents for $140 per hour. The space includes a small sink and refrigerator, but no kitchen. A few weeks ago a group of seniors organized a musical recital in the outside courtyard asked if the doors could be unlocked so guests could have access to a bathroom. The city refused their request.

Aside from a nice sign outside, it in no way resembles a senior center. It's an empty room with a misleading sign.

A new senior center is my priority

As I said, it's shameful that El Cerrito doesn't have a senior center. As activist Buddy Akacic so often reminds the city council, "It's a disgrace!"

My mom's story is evidence of what many already know. Older adults who participate in senior center programs experience improved psychological and physical health through the resources, activities and social engagement they offer. Among the many benefits are 

• Increased social interaction
• Reduced loneliness
• Community connections
• Support groups
• Meal programs
• Transportation services
• Health, fitness and wellness programs
• Exercise classes
• Social security, Medicare and other public benefits counseling
• Legal guidance and tax preparation assistance
• Housing and employment assistance
• Volunteer and civic engagement opportunities
• Haircuts, pedicures and manicures
• Books and movies
• Book clubs and bridge groups
• Mahjong, chess, checkers and other recreational activities
• Educational talks
• Arts programs
• Field trips and excursions, near and far

Special thanks and much appreciation to Buddy Akacic for keeping this very important issue at the forefront in El Cerrito. If you'd like to subscribe to Buddy's Bold Buzz informative weekly email of local senior offerings, events and reflections, send him a note at buddyakacic@gmail.com.

Please join with me in pushing for an El Cerrito senior center. Regardless of whether or not I'm elected, I am committed to working with both the city and county in identifying funding sources and potential sites for a new senior center. 

Regardless of who "wins" in November, let's make sure our senior community doesn't lose.