The Skyway Senior Center at Risk of Closing

Article by Claudia Kittock, photos by Rick Kittock

In my  ‘new’ life, I go to many meetings every week, meeting fascinating people from all over our city that do important work.  I am in awe of the work they do, and listen intently so that I can learn what I don’t know and what I need to know. Several months ago, in a span of a few weeks, at least one person in each meeting told me I had to meet Sara Goodnough and visit the Skyway Senior Center.  I decided not to question, but rather to just follow the directives.  Why was I meeting Sara?  What was I supposed to do after we met?  I didn’t have answers to those questions, but I set up a meeting out of respect for the cumulative wisdom of the people who told me to ‘go’! I’m glad I did.

Have you ever wandered around the skyways?  If you have, and have walked past Target, keep walking and around two more corners, you will find the Skyway Senior Center.  It is a charming place, usually populated with a mix of senior citizens, chatting, reading newspapers, using the computers, and just hanging out.

When I found it, I met Mary Louise.  She is 69 years old, a retired attorney who was married for 47 years to a man she calls “the one true love of my life”. They battled cancer together for 12 years, and when he died, she was confident she had prepared as best she could. What she couldn’t have planned for was the alone-ness.  A life lived with a partner had suddenly become a life she didn’t recognize. Mary Louise tried many things to help with the feelings of being alone, and none seemed to help, until she discovered the Senior Center.

The Center is for people age 50 and over. Visitors tend to live alone, and/or are low income, some of whom are experiencing homelessness. On any given day, the visitors represent every demographic and social strata.  Having a place to go, knowing other people will be there can have social and health benefits. There are 74 visitors a day on average, and in a year that can total well over 18,000 visits.

Mary Louise began coming in to have a cup of coffee.  As she talked with others there, she found discussions with other people who had lost a spouse and also were grappling with the feelings and the sadness.  She didn’t have to explain what she was feeling. Stopping in for a cup of coffee became a daily occurrence, and soon she was helping around the center. Mary Louise segued into volunteering there and is now an integral part of the center.

In addition to being a ‘hang out’ for seniors, the center offers over 600 structured activities and programs in a year, which averages to 2 ½ activities every day. During October of 2016, some of these activities include exercise classes, yoga classes, and seminars in planning health care in retirement, etc.

The Skyway Senior Center was founded in 2001 by a partnership of the City of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Senior Citizen Advisory Committee to the Mayor and City Council, and Ryan Companies with support from the University of St. Thomas and Target Corporation.  In 2010, The City of Minneapolis and UCare established a partnership with financial support from UCare.  Augustana Care became a partial sponsor in 2015 through June, 2016.  The Minneapolis Health Department provides oversight for the Center. In addition, the Friends of the Skyway Senior Center, an incorporated 501(c) (3) organization was established in 2003 to help support the Center.

While all of this is interesting, it is also cause for great concern. The future of the Skyway Senior Center is unknown at the time. The Friends of the Skyway Senior Center have generously been supporting the Center since April in absence of a sponsor and their funding will run out the end of this calendar year. Without financial support they will close. Help is needed, and quickly.

The Friends asks for your support with a generous contribution to their annual fundraising appeal so that the Center can continue into 2017 while more sustainable funding is sought. The Friends are a 501(c)(3)organization and gifts are tax-deductible. Supporters can contribute to the Friends of the Skyway Senior Center at: https://www.givemn.org/organization/the-friends-of-the-skyway-senior-center-incorporated.

This Center is important to so many people and it will not stay open without your help.  Please contribute!

Claudia can be reached at claudia@millcitymedia.org