7 hours ago
Tri-Counties Community Center in Marysville welcomes new senior program as repairs still loom
A new seniors program has found a temporary home at the Tri-Counties Community Center in Marysville, despite the center still reeling from storm damage from earlier this year. The program is called Seniors on the Go.
"Our community was built by the people aging in it. They're longtime taxpayers, longtime residents. They're the people and the culture we don't want to slip away from Yuba County," said Yuba County District 2 Supervisor Renick House.
The chair for the Yuba County Commission on Aging started a Seniors on the Go program up in the foothills roughly three years ago. After tremendous success and a lot of interest, the program is expanding to Marysville, with a yes vote by the board of supervisors. The foothills program isn't eligible for county funding because it's a nonprofit, but the new Marysville program is a different story.
"I realized there were a lot of seniors with no place to go and lots of isolation," said the founder of Seniors on the Go Yuba Foothills and chair of Yuba County Commission on Aging, Margaret Fowler. "We were pleased they supported us with the now-approved funding."
Yuba County's health and human services department recognized the need and is now in a contract with the Tri-Counties Community Center for Seniors to attend workshops and socialize a couple of days per week, along with a monthly luncheon, all at no cost.
"This program will include enrichment activities for our senior population. We haven't had something like this in a long time, just having something consistent and available," said Deputy Director for the Yuba County Health and Human Services Department Jessica Garcia.
"I am a senior and I like to stay active, I like to stay involved in my community, and I think that all the other seniors feel that way. They just don't know what to do," said Seniors on the Go Marysville Project Lead Peggy Dehhan. She's also the former executive director of the Tri-Counties Community Center.
Now, seniors will have a place to go. At least for the next year, but storm damage to the community center is continuing to pose problems.
"We have a lot of water damage we need to clean up and repair from the walls to the ceilings to the joints. It hit us really bad," said Dehaan.
The community center is still looking for funding to make permanent repairs so programs like seniors on the go, kids crafts, the roller rink and much more can exist.
"We don't want to lose any of that. It's really important we band together and work together and make this facility shine," House said.
The next seniors on the go event will be July 16 at the community center.
Yuba County said once the Marysville program gets going, they will be working to expand it even further to underserved communities like Linda and Olivehurst.
