Having fun is a mission we take seriously at Serving Seniors. It might surprise you to learn this.
Without a doubt, our work with low-income and homeless older adults in San Diego County confronts sobering issues of poverty and poor health. But finding the joy in being social and enjoying friendship is a key ingredient to improving the lives of our clients.
Older adult isolation in the U.S. is a major public health crisis. Roughly one-third of older Americans experience loneliness and social isolation. This significantly increases the risk of serious and chronic physical and mental illnesses.
In 2023, a national poll reported that about 37% of older US adults between 50 and 80 years old experienced loneliness. Loneliness affected women more than men and was more common among people who were unemployed or lived alone. Surprisingly, loneliness was more common among older adults in their 50s and 60s, putting them at risk for poor health into their older years.
Senior centers, like the Serving Seniors Gary and Mary West Senior Center downtown, and our new Judith L. Seltz Senior Center in Clairemont, are community-based facilities whose mission is to support older adults by providing a safe and welcoming place for them to connect, to access services and to stay healthy.
Senior centers in San Diego County vary in size and scope. All of them including those operated by Serving Seniors share the same mission: to improve the quality of life for older adults and strengthen our community.
While Serving Seniors focuses on low-income and homeless older adults, our centers are open to everyone age 60 and older. We provide a broad range of services and activities.
First among them is nutritious meals. Serving Seniors provides meals year-round at its two flagship centers, with meal service offered seven days a week at the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center and five days a week at the Judith L. Seltz Senior Wellness Center. But we also serve meals at seven more congregate dining sites from Oceanside to La Mesa to Imperial Beach. Our meals help older adults stretch fixed incomes while ensuring access to healthy, balanced nutrition.
But as Moses said, “Man (and woman) does not live by bread alone.” Serving Seniors gives a lot of thought to our activities every day, including health and fitness classes, cultural programs, games and entertainment. Lifelong learning gets our clients involved in cooking demonstrations, health education and technology tutoring. Our Civic Engagement Group is made up of older adults who get involved in civic issues affecting older adults, making sure their voices are heard.
In the last 12 months, Serving Seniors offered 1,965 individual activities — more than five daily. There truly is something for everyone.
On Aug. 26, Serving Seniors will hold one of our most popular events all year, our “Senior Idol” competition. Any of our clients can sign up to perform whatever talent they want to share. We have been amazed by wonderful performance by musicians and singers. We have dancers, poets and standup comedians. We have clients who show off their visual arts. And we always get a surprise or two!
Our contestants perform for a panel of judges and a packed audience at our Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center. We invite the public to cheer our contestants on. It’s exciting to see our performers giving it their all!
Our work is possible because of a strong partnership between local donors and federal programs. Federal funding through the Older Americans Act stretches every private dollar we raise, allowing us to serve more people more effectively.
The Older Americans Act also funds the only federal job program focused on aiding low-income older adults and the only federal program directly helping family caregivers.
Once again in 2026, this lifeline is under threat. On July 14 the Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan Older Americans Act reauthorization. A 2025 poll by the John A. Hartford Foundation showed that 84% of Americans support the Older Americans Act. Our California Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla both voted in favor.
This is a significant bipartisan first step. Now, the House of Representatives must also reauthorize the Older Americans Act.
Older Americans Act services operate in every House district, including in San Diego County. But this legislation gets little attention from our House representatives. We now need Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-Va.) to work together like the Senate to reach a final agreement.
The Older Americans Act is now 61 years old and is one of our nation’s most successful investments. Every federal Older Americans Act dollar generates $4 in non-federal support. There is not a single program in the OAA that does not need additional funding.
Serving Seniors hosts tours of our Wellness Centers for our Congressional representatives during the August recess, and we are grateful for the attention and support for our clients from Representatives Sara Jacobs, Mike Levin, Scott Peters and Juan Vargas.
To our Times readers, talk to older adults you know receiving services provided by the Older Americans Act every day. Ask them what a difference those services make in their lives. Then tell them you support the Older Americans Act and let your elected officials know you’re counting on their yes vote in September, so it can become law in 2026.
Melinda Forstey is president and chief executive officer of Serving Seniors.
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