LYNN — Mayor Jared Nicholson named Tania Freedman interim director of elder services this week, following her predecessor Christopher Gomez’s departure.
“Tania is really picking up where Chris left off,” Nicholson said in a written statement. “Watching her engage with the seniors who attend the program, you can see how passionate she is about making their experience as positive and productive as possible.”
Freedman began working as program manager for the Elder Services Department in March 2022, roughly two months before the senior center at 27 Friend St. opened its doors. Prior to joining that department, Freedman worked for 20 years at Bridgewell as a residential program director, assistant director, and human rights coordinator.
Gomez left the senior center on March 10 to become director of the Council on Aging in Beverly. Freedman said that Gomez’s move was “heartbreaking” and not anticipated, but that as a mentor, Gomez thoroughly prepared her for the new role over the course of a year.
“Director Gomez was a great example, so the overlap between his job and my job was fairly smooth,” Freedman said. “Obviously I have a lot of administrative logistical things to still learn, but it is a small learning curve. I’m very thankful for Director Gomez’s vision and his guidance.”
Freedman credited Gomez with giving her license to create a variety of senior programs she now considers career highlights. One highlight was bringing NBC news reporters into the senior center in August to meet the seniors and give a presentation on climate control’s impact on the elderly.
Over the course of a year, Freedman also organized an array of diversity-focused events for the seniors such as a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration in the fall and a Black History Month fashion show in February.
Freedman said that she and Gomez also began an English as a Second Language (ESL) program at the senior center that taught Spanish-speaking seniors English and English-speaking seniors Spanish. She said that she hopes to continue that program as acting director.
“I think that’s where we’re really seeing the immersion of culture. You can say something, but the proof is in the pudding,” Freedman said. “You can say we’re a welcoming, all-inclusive center, but it’s really in the programming and in the services that reflect whether we’re meeting those needs or not.”
Senior service, Freedman said, has been at the heart of all her programs in Lynn and beyond. She credits this priority to her Haitian cultural background. Freedman said that growing up, respecting and taking care of her grandmother was expected of her.
“This is really the experience of many diasporas, that we come into service very naturally bringing your grandparents food or tea, or perhaps taking care of them,” Freedman said. “My grandmother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died from ovarian cancer. I took care of her in high school, unbeknownst to me, it’s called caretaking, but back then it was just what you do.”
Freedman said that she is looking forward to continuing programs such as the digital literacy learning class, which teaches seniors the skills they need to learn and communicate with tablets. The department will award the first graduating class of seniors with Chrome tablets this Tuesday.
She said she is also excited for the first anniversary of the senior center’s opening in May, which she said will include a full week of programs and events.
“Even though I really enjoy the compliments and the accolades, I don’t stand by myself,” she said. “I have a great team. I have great support. The seniors are wonderful, and they’re very patient with me, and I couldn’t ask for a better gig, honestly.”
