WITH EXPENSES EXCEEDING INCOME, the doors of the Ukiah Senior Center will no longer be open on Fridays, reducing free food distribution, daily activities, lunches and a multitude of services and activities to four days a week.
“This is a huge deal and we made this decision very reluctantly,” said Executive Director Liz Dorsey, “but with monthly expenditures running at about $90,000, we have a regular deficit of about $15,000 per month.”
After serving 21 years as director of Boys & Girls Club of Ukiah, Dorsey came out of retirement to take the helm of the Ukiah Senior Center in April of 2024.
When she came onboard, the center was running effectively, but the departments were not integrated and were operating independently.
“I’ve been working to bring everybody together as a team,” she said.
The Senior Center provides a myriad of services, including: an outreach program that assists with checkbook balancing, insurance advocacy, housing, utility assistance, free food, friendly check-ins, caregiver referrals, fraud and scam prevention tips; transportation for doctor’s visits near and far or for a lunch date; medical equipment use; daily lunches for dining in or pick up, cooked on the premises; daily activities, holiday celebrations, dances and the Lunch Bunch program.
Ten years ago, former director Diana Ford set out to build a new center at a different location. Donations came in but the grant funding did not come through.
“Those donated funds from years ago remain in a separate, interest-bearing account and have not been touched,” Dorsey affirmed.
The Senior Center owns the land and the present plan is to stay, expand and rebuild a new center on site. The new courthouse will be just across the street, and next year Leslie Street will be resurfaced.
The Thrift Store, a converted house with many rooms, which provides their only guaranteed income of about $13,000 per month, will be razed and rebuilt with a more open format.
“We receive a phenomenal amount of donations for the store; however, people are dumping unwanted items night and day and we have to take care of the removal. It would be helpful if people would bring donations only during store hours,” she said.
Daily activities at Bartlett Hall Event Center, managed by Michelle Linderman, include computer and online assistance, movies, card games, bingo, bunko, beading and quilting, line dancing, computer lab, English as a second language, singing, practice space for the Mendo C Notes and monthly ice cream socials with entertainment.
“Some folks come in for a morning cup of coffee, a doughnut and a bit of socializing,” Dorsey added.
Holidays are celebrated with festive meals and parties, and dances are held throughout the year with local bands and free hors d’ouevres.
The Lunch Bunch, a program for seniors with dementia and early onset Alzheimer’s, managed by Mary Ann Anderson for 25 years, provides transportation, lunch, personal interaction, structured activities and respite for caregivers four days a week.
“The reality is, as humans, we can plan for what we anticipate happening, making sure our financial needs are met, but it’s very difficult to embrace and plan for dementia, whether personal or for a loved one,” Dorsey said.
“There’s a lot of fear around it and, although we realize it logically, we don’t want to ever have to face it.
“It’s easier to not think about and, in turn, ignore the Senior Center, not bother funding it, because that would mean accepting our own mortality, our own imminent aging and death and, as a society, we don’t want to do that.”
The center has about 700 members (membership is open any age) and serves over 4,000 needs per month.
The Mendocino Transit Authority provides funding for the center’s transportation program and the County of Mendocino for the outreach department.
Sustaining donors include the James Busch Trust, Eva Dunnebeck Estate, Beverly Morby Estate, George & Ruth Bradford, Mabel Anderson, T.R. Eriksen, USC Endowment Fund, William H Carter Trust, Mary Facklam Memorial Endowment and the Community Foundation of Mendocino County.
Over the years their funding has dramatically decreased due to tight county finances; next year county funding will be gone.
The need, however, remains.
The garbage disposal is broken, requiring a $3,000 repair; the doorknob for the handicapped ADA door no longer works; a visit from the fire marshal determined safety repairs could amount to about $30,000; the roof is beyond repair; the air cooling unit is starting to go; and the kitchen needs new flooring.
“That’s all a couple of bucks we don’t have— I have to remind myself to just keep going,” said Dorsey.
“We really thought hard about making the decision to close on Fridays; it means no services, no socialization. We purchased a Foodsaver vacuum sealer that will allow clients to pick up their Friday meal on Thursday—so they’ll have food on the weekend.“The elderly have so much to offer with their talents, knowledge and histories; to not integrate them, to not have them be a part of all of us is just…criminal.”
“The older we get, the more we realize how much yesterday mattered. It’s about when our parents were kids; it’s about somebody who was their neighbor, their friend, their acquaintance; and it’s about a tie in to those who have left us so that, instead of discarding, we can create continuity.”
For more information or to learn how to donate or volunteer visit the Ukiah Senior Center at 495 Leslie St., Ukiah., call (707) 462-4343, or visit ukiahseniorcenter.org.
This story originally appeared in The Mendocino Voice.