Letter to the Editor: Seniors Need Senior Center to Open as Isolation Takes a Toll

Posted

As a patron of the Toledo Senior Center, I would like to know when the senior centers will be open.

It has been a tough year on the seniors as they are not able to get the socialization they so greatly need. Being cooped up for over a year and not getting this socialization has had a major negative effect on the minds of our seniors.

We need to see and interact with friends, play a game of bingo, play a game of pool or cards, or have a cup of coffee. We can wear masks, social distance or whatever needs to be done, just do something to get us open.

We have lost 12 seniors since we closed last April. COVID-19 didn't take these people. Loneliness and isolation played more of a factor than COVID-19. While meals are available (and thank goodness for the workers who prepare these meals and those who hand them out), imagine yourself sitting alone every day for over a year and eating your meal by yourself.

Being alone is not good for anyone, but for a senior, being alone is so much worse.



We need to find a way to safely get our seniors back into the centers. Come on, Area Agency on Aging and Lewis County Seniors — get together and get our centers open. Help us find a way to safely accomplish this task and get our seniors back into an environment we do much deserve.

 

Judy Hunter

Centralia