The past two weeks have been so heartwarming and absolutely filled with love and care. Our love, care, and connection event were a success. It was amazing to see how we all were able to come together as a class and bring joy and absolute happiness to our seniors in the community. I was able to work with one of my peers, Jimena Salazar, to create a Jeopardy game for the seniors. It was a hit in my opinion. The questions gave the seniors some brain farts but also gave them the ability to think outside the box and dig deeper into their knowledge. It was pretty funny seeing how the seniors were shocked with the random questions. Seeing how much joy it brought to the seniors were so fulfilling. Overall, the event was really nice. We had multiple games and activities happening at the same time. Some of these game and activities included ring toss, yoga, donation boutique, and photo booth. The one activity that made me think the event was a success was the photo booth. The photo booth was really nice touch because it gave the seniors the ability to cherish the moment with their friends or loved ones. Now, looking ahead to our outing in Barro Logan. It was incredible to see how little the community is age- friendly in my opinion. Although the community had great walking distance, clean streets, and five- minute walking distance to food places, it did not showcase any accessible sidewalks with ramps, sufficient amount of nature, or even public bathrooms or benches for the elderly to sit on. It was breathe taking to eye- witness the amount of space this particular had to have these age-friendly exercise machines that can permit the seniors to work out in an easy manner. That was a thought that came to my mind when looking at the Chicano Park. There were various places or opportunities that we can do to help the Barro Logan community. Also, I was shocked to hear the air pollution issue here in the community. I didn’t think about that considering the amount of industries placed next to these residents’ homes. It was an eventful two weeks. But I am happy and glad to have been a part of it.
This past week my mind has opened ten times more to what I had thought senior wellness centers were meant for. I always thought senior centers were depressing, tiresome, and plain boring. I was completely wrong when I stepped into Gary and Mary West Wellness center yesterday, February 2, 2022. Coming into the wellness center I immediately was received with welcome hands and directed to this amazing and beautiful conference room. Where I came to find out was a room used very often for exercising and dancing. I was blown away by how clean and colorful the environment was because I was expecting it to have boring colors and be ugly in all honestly. The tour began with the CEO of the establishment explaining to us what it means to have affordable housing and what the benefits and outcomes are to have it in various communities. I was impressed, yet shocked, by the fact that there is so little affordable housing and that there are so many older individuals that would rather take their chances on the street than stay at a shelter that is not age friendly. I was upset hearing this because knowing that there are simple but yet impactful things, we can do to make these shelters more age friendly. Which will contribute to having a more sustainable and friendly community for the elderly. After hearing the CEO out, we then were given the opportunity to tour the facility and again I was completely shocked by how colorful and amazing the place was. Seeing that they had a diverse staff from a social worker on hand to a dentist on hand was incredible. Understanding that there are so many things we young folks can push for to help the elderly will bring us to success and a better outlook in life in overall health for everyone.
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Gema LopezGema Lopez is a Human Development major with a specialization in Healthy Aging. She is from Archives
March 2022
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