SWAMPSCOTT — The town’s Senior Center is excited to welcome back its clients for in-person programs, while Seaglass Village, which will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the village movement on Tuesday, offers additional opportunities for residents over the age of 50.
The Senior Center has resumed regular in-person classes. Swampscott senior residents can once again enjoy exercise classes, dance, Tai Chi, Zumba, arts and crafts on Make-it Mondays, and watch movies or play games like scramble, poker and mahjong.
“Because of the drop in (COVID-19) numbers we are opening our doors,” said Director of Aging Services Heidi Whear. “We are excited to be back and open again. People have certainly been missing being together.”
Masks are still required indoors at the center and no food will be served to consume on site until March, except grab-and-go items.
The Senior Center now offers medical rides on Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and a pop-up-library will come to the Senior Center on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Seniors can also borrow Chromebook devices from the center. Whear said that the center has 10 Chromebooks and high-school students are available to teach senior residents how to use them.
Swampscott Seaglass Village is a nonprofit dedicated to helping seniors age in place. It is one of the newest villages among more than 350 in the U.S. and will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the village movement — a grassroots movement that explores ways seniors can healthily age in their home — on Tuesday, by partaking in a national virtual conference.
Whear, who is also president of the Seaglass Village, will be speaking about the recent achievements, challenges and opportunities of starting a village during COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is for fun but it is also to help people to stay at their home,” Whear said. “And it is not to duplicate what has already been done by the Council on Aging (COA), but to supplement that and connect people to resources.”
The U.S. House of Representatives will also mark the anniversary by designating Feb. 15 as National Village Day to recognize the nonprofit movement that supports aging in place.
The idea for the first village was conceived in 1999 by a group of older friends on Beacon Hill in Boston. They wanted to continue to live in their own homes and help each other stay healthy and socially active in their own community instead of turning to nursing homes, retirement communities, and hired helpers.
Seaglass Village officially opened on Dec. 1, 2021 with the same mission, after many months of intense planning and despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the village has 72 paying members and about 35 volunteers.
For now the village serves residents in Swampscott, Marblehead, and Nahant.
“That’s not to be exclusive,” said Whear. “It is just to set parameters as we open. As we grow, we will be able to initiate a group of folks in Salem and Lynn, and grow.”
The membership cost for one person 50 years old or older is $360 per year and $540 for a household. People can also sign up for social activities without other services for $120.
“We have plenty of people who joined in support of Seaglass and are telling us that they don’t need the services right now but may in a few years,” said Alyce Deveau, part-time director.
Through a network of volunteers, members can get help with transportation to doctor’s appointments, buying groceries, technical help with their devices or small household projects. Some members like to have a friendly phone call weekly or monthly, said Deveau.
Many Seaglass events have been held virtually on Zoom, which Whear found helpful as people can see each other’s faces and smiles, but in-person activities are starting to trickle in as well.
Right now the village is advertising a book club. The books will be delivered to participants’ homes and they will meet to discuss it on the last Monday of March.
“People are already excited about that,” Whear said.
The Seaglass Village office is open at 40 Monument Ave. from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Deveau also takes phone calls outside of those hours at 781-718-0401.
