SIMI'S SENIOR CENTER PREPARES FOR BOOMERS.Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - With the number of over-65 residents expected to double to 18,000 over the next two decades, Simi Valley officials are scrambling to devise programs to serve a healthier and more active senior population. Kathryn O. Medley med·ley n. pl. med·leys 1. An often jumbled assortment; a mixture: "That night he dreamed he was traveling in a foreign country, only it seemed to be a medley of all the countries he'd ever been to and , the city's senior services coordinator, said the need to upgrade and expand the 16-year-old senior center at 3900 Avenida Simi SIMI Sea Ice Mechanics Initiative SIMI Search for Intelligent Monkeys on the Internet SIMI Students Islamic Movement in India SIMI Society of Irish Motor Industry SIMI Smallholder Irrigation Markets Initiative is already felt - and the situation will become more critical as time passes. ``We're bursting at the seams, popping our buttons,'' she said. ``We look forward to serving more seniors, but we're limited either by facility or the hours of operation.'' She said the senior center served an average of 353 seniors daily in fiscal 1998-99 and has seen an increased participation of about 11 percent in the last six years. To help the city determine its future course, Simi Valley paid $14,700 to Moore Iacofano Goltsman Inc., for a Senior Needs Assessment and Strategic Plan. The report will be considered by the City Council at its 6:30 p.m. meeting on Tuesday. Mayor Bill Davis For the artist, animator, creative director, see . For the baseball player, see .
``If you look at anything they're involved in, their volunteerism is the highest percentage of any other group in this city,'' he said. ``With that level of commitment to the city, you certainly want to ensure they have adequate resources for their lifestyles.'' The senior-needs assessment study grew out of a five-year, long-range plan compiled last year by the Simi Valley Council on Aging. Among the recommendations in the company's strategic plan are the addition of a Dial-A-Ride waiting area, meal preparation areas and parking improvements at the senior center. It also stresses that the city should create a senior resource center to link the senior center with various social service agencies and that it should also streamline the process of providing information, referrals and services. The report warns that the city will have to shift its focus in the next 10 years from meeting the needs of local residents born during World War I and the Depression to those born after the end of World War II End of World War II can refer to:
MIG officials said baby boomers See generation X. will have different ideas of what it means to be ``old'' than their parents had, and they will be more active and healthier than any other elderly group in history. The plan recommends that by 2005, the city should remodel re·mod·el tr.v. re·mod·eled also re·mod·elled, re·mod·el·ing also re·mod·el·ling, re·mod·els also re·mod·els To make over in structure or style; reconstruct. and reconfigure the senior center to provide more room for ``lifelong learning Lifelong learning is the concept that "It's never too soon or too late for learning", a philosophy that has taken root in a whole host of different organisations. Lifelong learning is attitudinal; that one can and should be open to new ideas, decisions, skills or behaviors. facilities,'' which includes more computer terminals for seniors who are technically proficient. By 2010, the report continues, the city should build a separate technology lab with upgraded computers, scanners and color printers A printer that prints in color using three (CMY) or four (CMYK) colors of ink, toner or dye. Four color ribbons have been used in dot matrix printers, but these are rare today. See color laser printer and printer. , as well as a hobby center with woodworking equipment, metalwork metalwork. Copper, gold, and silver were probably fashioned into ornaments and amulets as early as the Neolithic period. Goldwork and silverwork have since employed the talents of leading artisans and artists in making jewelry, plate, inlays, and sculpture. , ceramics and painting facilities. Maury Schenk, chair of the Council on Aging, said the committee is excited that the council is actively considering the issue. He said he believes the expansion of the facility, built in 1984, should be the first priority. ``We won't have the space to get started on some of those other things, the expansion of services, until we have an additional facility,'' he said. ``So that sort of comes first.'' |
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