Letter to the Editor: Include the Senior Center in the new Community and Aquatic Center

To the Editor:

The Senior Center, the School District, the Light Rail coming our way, all colliding in ways we can’t fully grasp right now. This brings concern about the future of the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Senior Center and its place on the Shoreline Campus.

In November of this year, Shoreline voters will be asked to approve, or not, a proposed Shoreline Community and Aquatic Center.

The Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Senior Center seeks dedicated space for a senior center, within the Community and Aquatic Center. The dedicated space the senior center is seeking would be 6,000 square feet plus a commercial kitchen.

By the year 2025 it is believed that the city’s population will be 20% over 65. There will be a continuing need for not only recreational use but a variety of support services that the current center offers to seniors and their families. Many of the seniors in our community who use the center the most can do so despite their modest means: it provides essential services, it provides a place to be socially connected, it provides opportunities to volunteer, wellness programs and so much more. Most important: it provides a place to be: a safe place, a place to meet new friends, a place where people care about one another, a place where you can come every day if you want or just come for certain classes. A place where you know you will always be welcome

Losing a facility serving seniors would be a grave loss to the entire community. We need to be assured that the levy for funding that will appear before the City of Shoreline voters contains items proven essential to senior citizens regardless of income , including the adult children of seniors who will continue to age, even as they care of their aging parents.

Jon Ann Cruver
Shoreline