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Saturday, May 18, 2013
Downtown loses its senior center
by Kathleen Haley, published on March 18, 2010 at 7:02 PM
Storyline: Sacramento Neighborhoods
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Sacramento seniors facing economic hardship will have one less place to relax and meet friends.
Catholic Charities of Sacramento, Inc., has closed down its Cathedral Neighborhood Senior Center downtown because of a funding shortage, said Beth White, associate director of the nonprofit organization.
The center, which is located at 711 J St., had provided a social atmosphere for seniors since 1975, according to White. It shut down March 1.
Elderly residents of single-resident-occupancy motels as well as homeless seniors would gather at the center, White said. They would watch television or enjoy a coffee, she said.
For example, a group of seniors would come to the center in the morning because “that’s where they got their morning coffee,” White noted.
The closure means that seniors downtown no longer have a meeting place, White said. “We were the last downtown provider.”
For years, the center’s operations were paid for by Sacramento’s county government, the city of Sacramento and Catholic Charities, according to White.
Then, in 2004, the county halted its share of the funding for the center, White said, adding that the center is no longer receiving funding from the city government either.
Without the help from the city and county, Catholic Charities could not pay for the rent on the building, personnel or operational costs, White noted.
“If you live in a SRO, it really is your meet-and-greet place and your social place,” Sacramento City Councilman Ray Tretheway told residents at a Neighborhood Advisory Group meeting Monday in Midtown. “It just breaks my heart to see that go under.”
While the center has closed its doors, Catholic Charities continues to run an outreach program to help downtown seniors gain access to medical, dental and mental health services, among other services, White said. The outreach program is covered by federal funds, monies from foundations and private donations, she said. Catholic Charities operates the outreach program together with the Transitional Living and Community Support organization.
Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.
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He never wanted recognition for his work, because he knew that he was doing what needed to be done, and that was all. He hasn't called in to work sick for 16 + years. He had a knack for being able to handle people no one else could. He was the director, the manager, the dietary/nutritional director, the counselor, the social worker, and the security staff. He was the safe haven for the lost and weary, the light in the darkness for the lonely and abandoned. Because of my respect for him, he shall go unnamed, as shall I and others who work tirelessly with these folks.
I worked there as a volunteer for a long time myself, and this center didn't just serve seniors and homeless folks, it served everyone who came into its' doors.
I would like to see what happens to the businesses downtown now that there are going to be so many more folks with no where to sit and "hang out".
They didn't just serve coffee. The small amount of food that the senior center was able to provide these folks might have been the only thing between them and the cold grasp of death. I am not exaggerating, this is true for some of them.
No one likes to admit that there are so many people who are mentally ill, convicted felons, sex offenders, child molester, not to mention the actual senior citizens and many many homeless veterans right here in the middle of our beautiful shining state capitol, but there you have it. They are here, they are hungry, and now they are going to have to pay for "lack of funds" through their own additional suffering.
You drive by them every day on your way to work, or on the way to Raley field to watch a ball game. They are often emotionally unstable, and many of them drink and take drugs.
But when I am confronted with this harsh reality, I remember that this person before me is someones' son or daughter, sister or brother, father or mother, aunt or uncle. They had a place to live, and their world crashed down around them. They had a life, they had a job, they had a car, they could be you.
So many people think that if they don't think about it or look the other way, then it isn't a reality. Others believe that if they are charitable and give them hand outs, that they will go and buy some food. Maybe, but most likely it will be a pint of vodka. I know.....I have been watching them for a long time.
But no matter where you stand, do not forget that these are our people, our social blight which we have helped to create somehow by saying it's not our problem.
These are our veterans, our mental health patients, and our homeless whom the system has failed to safeguard. They are the ones who fell through the cracks, they are the untouchables.
The senior center was the last house on the block for many of these folks, when not even Loaves and Fishes could help them because of their emotional outbursts and tendency to be physically confrontational.
Where will they go now? To the park? To the river? To the morgue?
One more thing.......I sure am glad that the Catholic Church is willing to spend more than $80,000.00 on an ad campaign to "Bring Catholics Home" and more than $2,000,000.00 on the revitalization of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and yet couldn't afford a measly few thousand dollars a year for these people. What complete and total hypocrisy! Talk about serving the folks who are in the most need. Being a good samaritan! They say we sould give the shirts off of our back for someone who has none, and share our food and drink with those who are hungry, and yet they cover their church leaders in velvet purple robes and buy them rings to wear.
They are not "practicing what they preach".
Anonymous