By Jared Brown Meals on Wheels Spokane is known for its meal delivery service for seniors with limited mobility, however MOW’s Senior Center, located downtown, provides hot meals and a retreat for the 60 and up community.
The Mid-City Concerns Senior Center, open five days a week, has been around since 1967. Many of the members are living alone and have income below the poverty line. For $25 per year, members receive meals, a saved spot at dining tables, medical attention from nurses and access to internet and TV, among other services. “It’s cheap,” said Dewayne, a Mid-City Concerns member. For Dewayne, who is homeless, the center is a place of refuge and security. He normally sleeps outside if it’s warm enough, but with the harsh winter this year he’s stayed predominantly at the Spokane House of Charity or bus plaza downtown. "Usually I'll stay out on the street,” he said. “It's been too cold for me." He has frostbite on his feet from the wet and cold conditions this winter. "The longest I've been homeless my entire life is right now, the last two and a half years,” he said. Right now Dewayne only gets 1/3 pay from Social Security because they think he falls under early retirement, but since he lost all his forms of ID he can’t prove he’s actually 66. He said he doesn’t know what he’d do without the senior center, but it gives him a chance to relax and take his mind off of his worries. “They’re a great deal to me,” he said. Another member named Larry is reliant on food stamps to supplement what he can receive from MOW. And Bruce, also a member, went on disability when he was young, so he’s had to learn how to be thrifty if he can’t work. “I’m real grateful for this community,” Larry said. Along with the other seniors, he said the staff is very social. Executive Director Mollie Dalpae is another friendly face that often takes the time to interact with the seniors. The staff remembers birthdays and goes above and beyond in all areas, Larry said. The program is a “gift from God” he said as he teared up. “Without this place I’d be dead,” a member named Darlene joked. Having somewhere to go during the day is very important for keeping the soon-to-be 89-year-old active. The social aspect of the center is a huge benefit to member Bruce Dietz, where without it he’d be isolated in his apartment. Recently he had a bad cold and had to stay home where things were monotonous and lonely. Bruce and Larry, along with their friend Don, come three days a week to play bingo and cards together. One of the biggest events at the center is bingo three times a week. Darlene, regarded as one of the best bingo players, plays with 14 bingo cards. She used to play with 24, but there is one woman who plays with as many as 30. The game takes a lot of concentration and the whole center gets very competitive, she said. Members all agreed that it was nice to possibly win a little money while simultaneously having fun. Larry said the staff makes sure each of the seniors is happy and they’re conscientious about their well-being, shown in one way through the healthy meals. “The meals are pretty doggone wholesome,” Bruce said, adding that otherwise he’d be stuck with his microwave and frozen food. Nurses come every week and take blood pressure and offer immunizations, Darlene said. “This is the best senior center,” she said. It offers the best price and most benefits. Darlene has been coming to Mid-City Concerns since before it relocated to 2nd Avenue over 10 years ago. “I wouldn’t even look for another one,” she said. “We’re family here.” Larry said Mid-City Concerns is “much more inclusive” than other centers. Most of the seniors live in close proximity to the center, so it really is microcosm of the downtown senior community. Larry walks across the street from his apartment nearby; much of the low-income housing run by the Spokane Housing Authority is close by Mid-City Concerns. Bruce, on the other hand, is one of the few seniors that drives, but the commute shows how much the center means to him. “It’s 10 stars brother,” Larry said.
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