The Urban League of Portland and our partners at Meals on Wheels are looking forward to welcoming back our seniors to our Multicultural Senior Center!
In 2020, the Urban League Senior center closed its doors to the general public due to COVID-19. What was supposed to be only a few weeks of making efforts to steer clear of contracting the virus, turned into a global pandemic that changed the ways in which we lived and interacted with another for two years. Each time it seemed as if the coast was clear, a different variant of COVID-19 would rear its ugly head and put us all back into survival mode.
During this time, the senior center operations, activities and transportation became more limited in scope in order to adjust to the pandemic and adhere to guidelines set forth by federal, state and local governments. There was no in center dining, meals were only prepared and delivered to homebound seniors and activities consisted mostly of excursions outside of the center with limited seating on the UL bus.
Recently the State of Oregon and Multnomah County began recommending an end to COVID-19 physical distancing and subsequently, places of business have begun to ease their own COVID regulations, allowing customers to enter without wearing masks. The Urban League’s Multicultural Senior Center will also do so as well, so albeit a tad bit more cautiously.
Operations will start off slowly: while the meal deliveries will continue to be held Monday – Thursday, The Meals on Wheels People will begin serving in center meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:45 to 1:00pm. Urban League Senior activities on Tuesday and Thursday will be held in the afternoon after the meal service ends. Mondays and Wednesdays will be dedicated to offsite activities and Fridays will be used alternatively for both day-long trips and day-long activities inside of the center. The Meals on Wheels People will not be providing meal services on Fridays. Because the pandemic still poses as risk to our elders, masks are still required to participate in activities and our transportation program.
Our seniors have expressed how eager they are to return to a sense of normalcy, being able to feel safe and secure in a location where they can eat meals and participate in activities such as Bingo, Tai-Chi, and dancing. And of course we cannot forget the return of the mighty Urban League Urbanites, as they resume their reign of dominance amongst other Bean Bag Baseball Teams! We are excited to have our seniors coming back to the senior center after all of this time has passed and while things may not be the same as they were before the pandemic started, this just gives us an opportunity to try entirely different things and gain new, positive experiences that will create amazing memories. What’s most important is that our seniors are able to get out and congregate together once more and reconnect with familiar faces while enjoying meals and activities.
Welcome Back Seniors! We missed you!
