Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Peabody Senior Center Celebrates St. Patrick's Day March 13, 2024
>>Click HERE to Link to Item Live for Additional Info>>
North Shore news powered by The Daily Item
The
Peter A. Torigian Senior Center in Peabody hosts a St. Patrick's Day party on
Wednesday. (Spenser Hasak) Purchase this photo
Peabody
senior center celebrates St. Patrick’s Day
Richelle Melad
March
13, 2024 by Richelle Melad
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PEABODY
— The Peter A. Torigian Senior Center was all decked out in green and shamrocks
as seniors from the city and surrounding communities celebrated St. Patrick’s
Day.
Around
200 people registered for the center’s party. The event was mostly run by
volunteers who worked the registration desks, walked around the venue ready to
assist, and signed people up for multiple raffles. Volunteer Bill Drinan,
dressed up as St. Patrick, walked around to take photos with people.
“We
wouldn’t be able to do what we do without the volunteers,” Peabody Council on
Aging Director Carolyn Wynn said.
“Everyone
is just all hands on deck, all the time,” Council Board member John Sacramone
said.
The
Friends of the Peabody Council on Aging partially funded the event. Guests paid
$15 to attend and were treated to a traditional St. Patrick’s Day lunch of
corned beef, boiled potatoes, cabbage, turnips, Irish bread, and pistachio cake
prepared by the center’s kitchen staff.
DJ Alan
Labella was the star entertainer, encouraging those in attendance to form a
line dance and sing along to classic songs like “Sweet Caroline.”
Susan
Lowry, a Peabody resident and a regular at the Senior Center, commended the
event’s volunteers for getting everyone to participate.
“They
do such a good job,” Lowry said. “Everyone is friendly and happy, Alan Labella
puts on a great show, and people in their 90s still come. There are a lot of
lonely seniors, they need to know about the Senior Center.”
Administrative
Assistant Carol McMahon also emphasized the importance of making sure there are
many activities available for seniors in the city.
“Almost
37% of the Peabody population are over 60,” McMahon said.
McMahon
said that even though there were twice as many people at the annual parties
before the COVID-19 pandemic, many seniors still look forward to the
event.
“They look really happy,” McMahon said.
Friday, May 3, 2024
Building Better Caregivers Six-Week Workshop
>>Click HERE to link to AgeSpan for Additional Info>>
>>Click HERE to link to The Healthy Living Center of Excellence for Additional Info>>
>>Click HERE for Larger Image or Printable Version of Building Better Caregivers>>
The Healthy Living Center of Excellence is an innovative collaborative between Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley, Inc., a community based organization and Hebrew Senior Life, a medical provider with a goal of helping seniors remain independent and in the community as long as possible. By combining our expertise in the aging service and medical networks, the collaborative encourages older adults to become active partners in managing their health.
Evidence-Based Programs
__________________________________________________________________________
Building Better Caregivers:
Are you taking care of a family member or friend who is living with long lasting physical and/or mental health conditions? Do you spend at least 10 hours per week helping your loved one with things like finances, emotional support, legal issues, physical care, or activities of daily living?
If you answered "yes", sign up today for a Building Better Caregivers workshop. This six-week workshop can help you deal with the challenges of being a caregiver.
You'll learn how to reduce stress, manage difficult behaviors, take better care of your own health, get the help you need, and communicate better with family, friends, and health care teams.
Ongoing Schedule of Classes
TRUALTA
A personalized, skills-based training platform for family members caring for aging loved ones living at home. Through this exciting new interactive eLearning platform designed especially for family caregivers and tailored to their caregiving journey where caregivers can find convenient, on-demand, personalized information any time of day or night!
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Crystal Polizzotti
Family CareGiver Support Groups | Virtual Support Groups and Programs
>>Click HERE to link to AgeSpan for Additional Info>>
>>Click HERE for Larger Image or Printable Version of Family CareGiver Support Group>>
Including Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and Memory Cafes
5:00-6:30PM | 3rd Thursday Every Month | The Linden at Danvers | Dementia Support Group
Including GrandParents Raising Grandchildren and Memory Cafes
Thursday, March 14, 2024
We Care Friendly Calls Program 978 219-1654
The North Shore Public Health Collaborative, in conjunction with the City of Peabody Health Department, is offering a new outreach support service for aging adults in the North Shore community. The WeCare program is a four-week telephone outreach and support program for aging adults, centered on providing meaningful connections and conversations through daily phone calls. Our is to bring a friendly, respectful, and empathetic phone call to our participant’s day, to ease feelings of loneliness, isolation, and separation.
The WeCare program was designed and developed as the Covid-19 public health emergency began to expire nationwide. The pandemic caused significant gaps in the connection between aging adults and their families, friends, and community. Even friendly conversations with strangers became limited for so many of us, as we remained closer to home to stay healthy. It is our goal at WeCare to bridge those gaps and make daily supportive connection a reality again for aging adults.
How does it work? After a brief introductory call from the WeCare program manager, the participant will be paired with one of our trained Community Health Workers. The initial introductory call will allow our team, and the Public Health Departments that support us, to understand more about the individual participant, their specific circumstances, and potential needs.
The WeCare program is available to aging adults in the City of Peabody and surrounding communities who are interested in a regular call and outreach support from our team.
Additionally, the North Shore Public Health Collaborative has launched the WeCare Resource Guide.
>>Click HERE for Additional Info on the North Shore public Health Collaborative>>
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Thursday, January 4, 2024
A New Year's Message from the Senior Center | Peabody Weekly News Item Live pg 5
>>Click HERE to Link to the Peabody Weekly News Item Live for Additional Info>>
>>Click HERE for Larger Image or Printable Version of A New Year's message from the Senior Center>>
A New Year’s message from the Senior Center
Carolyn Wynn
For The Weekly News
The start
of a new year is not only a great time to think of all the possibilities that
lie ahead, but it also gives us the opportunity to reflect on the year that has
passed. In this New Year’s message, I thought it would be a great time to share
some statistics regarding the many services we have provided throughout 2023.
As many of
you know, the Peabody Council on Aging is primarily a social services agency.
For over 50 years, we have based many of our core services on the Older
Americans Act of 1965. The tenants outlined in that legislation include
Transportation, Social Services, and Nutrition. Our transportation service, “Project
Mobility,” is for Peabody residents only. We provide transportation to medical
appointments, shopping, and the PCOA to attend programs, receive services, and
share lunch with friends. We also provide many miscellaneous trips as well.
Project
Mobility provided 31,961 trips this year. Of those trips, 6,197 required using
our wheelchair lift, making our services more accessible to all.
Our social
services are also available to Peabody residents only. We often receive
requests for social services from nonPeabody residents, but we must be
steadfast in this rule, as a significant portion of our city is over 60. We
would like to be able to help everyone, but unfortunately, that is not
possible. However, we are happy to provide contact information for non-residents
to receive necessary assistance. Our social services team assists with many
services, such as health insurance (particularly during open enrollment), Mass
Health, fuel assistance, SNAP program, I & R, housing applications, and the
commodity food program. This year, we provided 16,378 units of service.
Our
licensed Adult Day Health program is the only one in the state to be operated
by a senior center, going beyond the scope of a supportive day program through
the support of our clients. The ADH program has extremely caring staff
providing needed services. Our program has allowed caregivers more time
together with their loved ones - often delaying placement in nursing homes and
many times avoiding placement altogether. The ADH program also gives clients’ families
a respite to take care of themselves. Caregiving is one of those things that
truly cannot be completely understood until you are experiencing it.
It is
always enjoyable to share a meal with friends. Our senior center operates an
independent lunch program, and all are welcome! A wonderful addition to this
nutrition program is the recently opened Friends Café, which serves older
adults from many communities. Our lunch program is one of the biggest social
programs that we have. This year, we served 31,770 meals.
I was
fortunate to be present 32 years ago when Mayor Peter Torigian cut the ribbon
to open our new senior center. His words still ring true, that all who can get
to our center will be welcome — something that has been our policy and our
strength from the beginning.
From that
day, we have always been a welcoming place to older adults from Peabody and
many surrounding communities, just as Peabody residents are welcomed in other
local senior centers. In fact, many of our volunteers are from other communities
but choose to volunteer their time and talents here at our center.
Aside from
our core services, we have a myriad of classes and activities to keep older
adults engaged and living independently in the community. There are so many
positive health benefits from participating in social activities. I know many
are looking for that “miracle cure” to stay young and mentally fit, but the one
tried and true solution is to stay active and socially engaged. There is no
better place for this than the Torigian Senior Center, as is evidenced by
12,486 people signed in for fitness and exercise programs, 19,802 activity and
class attendees, and 3,456 tickets sold for our special events.
Currently,
every available space in the center is being used. We realize that the new
generation of retirees who have started to join us are looking for more
exercise programs, and we hope to provide that. We are presently in the process
of completing our outside recreation area that will house modern pickleball and
bocce courts. This addition has transformed an unused area that will become a
place of incredible activity! We want to thank the CPA for funding this
project.
In the
near future, we hope to start a capital campaign to expand our senior center,
which will add more space for fitness programs. In the meantime, we are trying
to add afternoon exercise classes to accommodate this growing need. Remember,
we have a beautiful indoor fitness room that is staffed by helpful volunteers,
and it is free to use. Even with all that is offered here, we are always open
to suggestions for new classes and activities, so please share your ideas with
us!
I hope to
see you at our center! Fondly, Carolyn
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Friends Cafe News!
Starting Thursday, January 4th, we are happy to announce that we will be serving BREAKFAST on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.
The cost is $5.00 and comes with your choice of coffee or tea.
On Tuesdays, we will serve a Breakfast Sandwich. Eggs and cheese with your choice of Canadian bacon or breakfast sausage on an english muffin. (Served with hashbrowns)
On Thursdays, we will serve a Traditional Breakfast. Two eggs, scrambled or fried with your choice of two breakfast sausages or bacon. (Served with hash browns or toast)
We will offer the Breakfast Sandwich and a Fruit and Yogurt Parfait ...“A La Carte” for $4.00. Our Breakfast menu and any changes that may take place will be available inside and outside the café. We look forward to having you!
The January Lunch Special
Grilled Chicken Caprese Sandwich Marinated chicken breast, sliced tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil pesto and balsamic glaze layered on sliced bread and grilled to perfection. Served with your choice of a side
We are looking for more volunteers during the week to serve lunch. If you are 60 and over and are interested in doing a lunch shift, please call Kat DeLomba, our new Volunteer Coordinator at 978-531-2254 X108. Thanks!
Friday, December 29, 2023
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Thursday, December 21, 2023
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