St. Francis Community Center's senior services department temporarily relocated, set to move to Manahawkin May 1

Photo by Jack Reynolds
Residents of LBI and the mainland spent
Easter brunch at the Parkertown firehouse,
decorating hats and sharing good laughs.

A group of elderly residents from Long Beach Island and the mainland spent Thursday, March 28, decorating Easter hats and sharing merriment over brunch with residents from Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton at the Parkertown Firehouse in Little Egg Harbor Township. That’s where the St. Francis Community Center’s senior services department has been temporarily located since Superstorm Sandy. Besides indulging in delicious food and Easter baskets filled with candy and crackers, participants said they were happy to be out of the house, sharing laughs and interacting with other people at the banquet.

The holiday feast is just one of the many events offered to people 60 and older.

“I love all the people here. We have such a good time together,” said Larry Fenlon, 92, of Manahawkin, sporting a hat he had made out out a Styrofoam bowl and decorated with pink and red foam, glitter hearts. “I made it with my own two fingers,” he added proudly.

The congregate lunch program is offered Monday through Friday and includes transportation services. A $2 donation for lunch and $1 donation for busing are suggested, but not required. All donations are anonymous.

Residents from LBI and surrounding areas who attend the lunch program are usually transported to St. Francis Community Center in Brant Beach on Long Beach Island, but things have shifted since the storm. Theresa Griepenuarg of Barnegat, who has been involved with the center’s senior services for the past six years, has been embracing the new location.

“I love the atmosphere here. It’s like the country. There are all kinds of birds and cats outside, and we have four fire engines here,” she said with enthusiasm. “I come to the lunches five days a week unless I have something to do, like get my dog groomed,” she added.

Photo by Jack Reynolds
An Ocean County resident shows off the
Easter hat she decorated with friends.

The senior services department opened a satellite office in Manahawkin in May 2011 at the Ocean County Southern Service Center on Route 9 in Manahawkin. However, the department had to move after the National Guard took over the building when Sandy hit. The department is now sharing the space with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The senior services programs will be permanently held at the SSC after the grand opening of the nutrition site on Wednesday, May 1 – a plan that has been in the works for more than two years.

“It was always the plan to consolidate the kitchens from Long Beach Island and West Creek, so that it would be a little bit more accessible to people on the mainland,” said Linda Falb, director of senior services at St. Francis Community Center. “When we were transporting people to the Island, we realized that 95 percent of our clientele we were bringing over were from the mainland. So we knew that we wanted to be on Route 9, number one, because there's public transportation. People can take Dial-a-Ride; they can take NJ Transit buses. It’s just more conducive for people to get there.”

St. Francis Center on LBI is still serving as a senior services center, as well. Cards, exercise classes and other games are offered on-site. All programs will also be held at the SSC starting in May.

Falb said she would be joining the Senior Advisory Committee of Stafford Township to help spread the word about the many programs the department offers.

Home-delivered meals, outreach and benefits counseling, attorney services, state health insurance, eligibility screening for pharmaceutical and utilities assistance, as well as information and referrals for other weekly and monthly programs and services, such as special trips and food shopping, are offered through the department. Assistance is also available for caretakers.

Ocean County has one of the largest senior populations in the nation, with 160,000 seniors older than 60, said Falb. Serving the older population cannot be overlooked, she added.

“The worst thing for a senior citizen is to be socially isolated,” claimed Falb. “Everybody needs some type of socialization, but we find that when seniors are home by themselves, they start to deteriorate in health. They’re not moving; their minds are not stimulated.

Photo by Jack Reynolds
A couple of friends swap stories during a
congregate lunch program in LEH, hosted
by the St. Francis Community Center's
senior services department.

“Here (at the congregate lunch program) they spend approximately three hours with friends, talking, having coffee, having a nice meal, getting entertained. We play games that help with their dexterity. We have programs such as trivia games that also help them. It’s a huge part. Our main goal through our senior services program is for people to stay as self-sufficient as possible and in their own homes as long as possible.” 

The senior services department has also been working closely with the human concerns department, which is offering assistance to persons affected by Sandy. Out of the 223 families that have been helped by the program so far, 78 of them were senior citizens, said Falb. Assistance with appliances, gift cards, food, prescriptions, housing and counseling services is still available.

For more information, visit http://www.stfranciscenterlbi.org/ or call 609-494-8861.

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.