Oberlin Senior Center to remain closed permanently

OBERLIN — Afternoons filled with games of bridge and Scrabble gave 77-year-old Margaret Gueulette a sense of belonging, and helped stave off loneliness. Two or three days a week for most of the past 15 years, she would meet up with friends at the Oberlin Senior Center, located in the nondescript white house at 90 East College St. Then the pandemic arrived. Senior centers were ordered shut down, and game days and pleasant chats with friends around the table disappeared. "We were all assuming they were going to open back up," Gueulette said. But after years of running enormous deficits, the Oberlin Senior Center has not reopened, and the Neighborhood Alliance board has voted to close the facility permanently. Even before COVID-19 reared its ugly head, the center had been in the red by $40,000 to $50,000 for several years — some 40 percent of its annual budget, said Alicia Foss, president and CEO of Neighborhood Alliance. "That was just on the services we were already providing. That wasn't any expansion of our services, and it wasn't doing any repairs to our building," she said. Without state or federal funding to rely on, most of the senior center's budget came from the city of Oberlin, she said. The city even helped fix the building's aging boiler, but other repairs became too costly, and the financial problems were compounded by the pandemic. Foss said the intention is not to abandon Oberlin's senior citizens. Instead, Neighborhood Alliance is working on a plan to still offer many services without the need for a building and its expenses. There will still be a home-delivered meals program, and well-checks for older clients. The nonprofit will deliver essential supplies to seniors in need and provide referrals to organizations that can provide services such as blood pressure screenings or hearing aid checks. Foss said she is even looking at using a pop-up shop model to host social events such as group dinners and bingo. Oberlin Community Services has partnered with Neighborhood Alliance for a long time and is aware that without the senior center there may be an increase in requests for assistance, said Executive Director Margie Flood. "We did see many of the same seniors already," she said, since both organizations offer food pantries. OCS is working on a strategic plan for the future and keeping the needs of seniors "very much in mind," Flood said. "We are very aware that with the senior center closed, there are going to be services that are vital to offer." For Gueulette, finding a way to stay connected with fellow seniors is a top priority, especially after a long 15 months of isolation because of the pandemic. Movie nights, exercise groups and weaving were all activities that brought friends together, she said. And for seniors living in lower-income housing, often without their own vehicles, it was crucial to have a place within walking distance to get help with hearing tests, tax assistance and transportation to medical appointments. Gueulette, who sat on the facility's advisory board, said the Oberlin Senior Center had been in operation since 1970, and before the pandemic had about 200 dues-paying members. "We had a lot of people who went there for a lot of activities," she said. "It was a wonderful cross-section of racial and ethnic (groups). You could hardly get a more mixed group. And the best thing was fellowship." Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.