Senior centers are expanding and evolving. Active aging — think line dancing, speed dating and pickleball––is at the forefront of creating spaces for new generations of older adults with a range of interests. The priority: growing older with dignity and creativity.
In June, the city of Livonia held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $26.9 million, 30,000-square-foot upgrade to its Senior Wellness Center. The expanded infrastructure will allow for more programming, a fitness center and educational seminars.
In the heart of Detroit, St. Patrick Senior Center is accepting donations for continual repairs and renovations on its 1892 Victorian-style building. Community generosity financed in 2022 a revamped computer room that also hosts the center’s gospel choir rehearsals, large meetings and classes for nursing students.
And in West Michigan, the Portage Zhang Senior Center saw a dramatic uptick in membership when it opened a $12 million facility in 2022 with a bicycle club, tap dancing, cooking classes and speed dating.
Today’s older adults are choosing lifestyles that support their desire for community building and active engagement and senior facilities are adapting to the changing landscape.
According to the National Council on Aging, nearly 11,000 senior centers serve 1 million older adults. The organization surveyed 400 centers nationwide and almost half reported plans to build or renovate within five years.
Part of rebranding includes name changes. In 2023, when the Older Persons’ Commission in Rochester, Michigan, announced a brand refresh, including a new name for the senior center, the goal was to reflect how its members felt: engaged, active and sophisticated. This generation over 50 said they didn’t quite consider themselves “seniors.”
“We went through the whole process of surveying our members and getting their feedback on the facility and what speaks to them. So many people said, ‘the name is off-putting,’” said executive director Renee Cortright.
Changing the name to OPC Social & Activity Center was just the beginning. The 90,000-square-foot award-winning facility now features two indoor pools, pickleball and basketball courts, a walking track, a remodeled cardio and weight room, and a marketplace with jewelry, pottery, woodworking and stained glass made by members. There’s also musical theater and a travel club.
The theater group is where longtime member Judy Satterthwaithe, 85, feels most free. “I just love it because I can be anybody but myself, and I have more fun being silly. I’ve been in 20 to 30 productions and felt freer to do it here at the OPC. If I don’t come here, I sit at home and do zip. The most important vitamin when you get old is to move.”
In the woodworking studio, Bill Wekwert, a 78-year-old retiree from Ford Motor Co. said OPC saved his life. “I retired at 65, and all of my buddies who retired six months later died. One of them, he didn’t get his first [Social Security] check,” said Wekwert. “I was looking for gardening in Rochester, and somebody told me about this place. As soon as I came in, I fell in love with it and I’ve been coming ever since –– 13 years. I’ve never had this many friends before.”
Shifting the stigma on ageism
The Hannan Center in downtown Detroit also changed its name, from Hannan House in 2017, to appeal to a vibrant community and to better meet the vast needs of older adults. Two years later, the center was renovated to expand its art gallery, add a theater and remodel its lobby.
“Ageism is still pretty pervasive, and so people wind up buying into it themselves, ‘I’m old, I can’t do that.’ Yes, you may be a certain age, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn new things or try new things,” said Pat Baldwin, director of Hannan’s Beyond U program, which promotes personal enrichment while also using a strengths-based approach to learning that helps individuals identify and apply skills that are relevant to their personal needs.
“I’ve enjoyed working with older adults and creating programming that enhances their quality of life but also shows them that when you retire, it is not the epilogue; it is the next chapter.”
Baldwin coordinated an intergenerational project with Hannan Center members and local arts institutions, highlighting stories about Detroit’s 1967 rebellion. Beyond U participants worked with Wayne State’s English department to share their stories. Each story was accompanied by music from Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Creative Jazz Ensemble and then performed by members of the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit.
“That was an extensive project that just came out of my head,” Baldwin said, smiling. “There were people in the class from Hannan Center in our age group who said they had never spoken about [the rebellion] before. One man, in particular, said he was a kid when this happened and remembered his mother going around to the police stations, men being locked up in buses, and things like that. He had never spoken about that until that point in time.”
She added, “That’s my idea of creative aging––taking it to the next level, thinking outside of the box––not just your normal bingo and playing cards.”
At St. Patrick Senior Center, the largest health, wellness and activities center serving adults 55 and older in metro Detroit, Pat Allen leads an hourlong beginner’s hustle dance class that segues from jazz and R&B to contemporary and pop. ‘“Don’t stop dancing, ’cause you’re old,” Allen encouraged members of a recent class. “Keep moving and socialize. If you miss a step, just follow the person next to you and get back in it.’”
During a music transition, Allen motivated the group with news from a New England Journal of Medicine study: “Regular dancing reduced the risk of dementia by 76%.” The group cheered in response.
Serving over 3,000 older adults annually, St. Pat’s activities range from belly dancing to field trips to local cultural destinations. There is a book club, a clothing closet and beauty salon, a health center, transportation services, and a widely praised made-from-scratch $2 meal program.
“This has been a good place for me. It’s important to give people options and encourage them to live their best life,” said the Rev. Sheila Cook, 79, who leads When Sisters Speak— a social group for women at St. Pat’s welcoming free-flowing dialogue. “[Being part of this community] gave me the freedom to really be me. I could have gone to any one of the senior centers in town, but this is it. This is my third home; my other family,” Cook said.
Activities director Joanne Carter said that before stepping into St. Pat’s over 20 years ago, her idea of senior centers matched the general perception. “When you think of senior centers, you think ‘I don’t want to go and be with those old people on canes and walkers.’ But it is not like that,” she said. “We have all these activities and resources under one roof to keep the people here and to give them an active quality of life.
“Seniors are usually pushed to the back and people feel like we don’t have to pour a lot into them because ‘they’re about to die anyway’. But no, seniors still count,” said Carter. “We have people here who are in their 100s, talking in their right mind and still walking. Seniors are being active, and they have to keep going. They have to have something to look forward to.”
Lynette Smith, 69, a yoga teacher at St. Pat’s said she enjoys the positive vibes and instant community. “Staying active, engaged, staying in community and talking to people is so important for our senior health. To have a community where people come in and say ‘Hey! How ya doin’, where ya been,’ give me a hug’ is important to our well-being.”
Meeting people where they are
For some centers, revamping means reaching a more diverse clientele. Today, centers target the LGBTQ+ population, communities of color and shifting age demographics. As people live longer, senior centers are adapting to fill the needs of GenXers, Baby Boomers and The Silent Generation (79-94 year-olds), meaning one day there may be a card game or rounds of pool and the next a group trip to the museum or fitness and dance classes.
“You can’t say, oh, well, they’re over 50, over 60 so they want this. We have three generations of seniors that we’re serving, and each one is different,” Baldwin said. “So, it’s about understanding, meeting people where they are, and making people feel comfortable.”
Across centers, the goal is to empower seniors to continue reinventing themselves and living fulfilling lives, both independently and when they require more assistance. There is also a need to foster a safe and supportive community, and lessen feelings of loneliness and signs of distress.
“So many in society feel that once you reach a certain age, maybe even stage, that you are not as active, not as mentally, emotionally and spiritually active––that’s not true. There’s so much vibrancy,” Smith said. “We are defining and redefining what seniorhood is.”
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