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September 10, 2004/Elul 24 5765, Vol. 57, No. 1
Senior site to close
LEISAH NAMM
Managing Editor
Seniors at the Valley's only kosher senior center learned last week that the facility will permanently close its doors.
Mark Shore, president and CEO of the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, told the seniors on Aug. 31 that the center must vacate its leased facility at 1805 W. Montebello Ave. in Central Phoenix on Oct. 6, and will not reopen elsewhere.
The site is scheduled to become a terminal for Phoenix's light-rail project.
In protest, some seniors called newspapers, television stations, city councilmen and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.
Two days later, the JCC announced that the City of Phoenix extended the notice at least through the end of 2004.
The added time will give the seniors a chance to get used to the idea of the closure, Shore said in a Sept. 2 press release. "The JCC, along with our partners, will do everything we can to make sure this transi-tion goes as smoothly as possible."
The news has devastated the seniors, said Sandy Reichsfeld, JCC director of senior adult services and a JCC employee for 20 years, the last 12 with the senior center. An average of 40 seniors come to the senior center each weekday for a hot kosher meal, programs and socialization, she said.
"This is our home away from home," said Ann Pearl, a regular at the center. "How can they kick us out and not find a place for us in the Jewish community?"
"I'm heartbroken," said Reva Kirschner, who began attending the program when she lived around the corner from the former JCC at 17th and Maryland avenues. "I've been coming here for almost a quarter of a century," she said. "I eat here every day."
After the City of Phoenix first notified the JCC in 2003 about the pending move, JCC representatives began working with the Area Agency on Aging, the Valley of the Sun United Way, the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix and the city to find a new location, Shore said.
"Everyone really tried their best to find a location that would work," he said. "Unfortunately ... we could not get something that we could make work."
Shore said many challenges stood in the way. Property purchase and rental costs in the area have increased, and several potential locations were unsuitable due to steep renovation costs, he said.
"(The city) wasn't going to pay for any renovation expen-ses, just moving expenses," said Irwin Kanefsky, JCC board chairman.
"Whatever site we did find ... we had a twofold problem," Kanefsky said. "One, the rent was significantly more than we were able to handle. ... And two, the cost of renovating the property to bring it up to code and meet the needs of the elderly was cost-prohibitive."
At one location the JCC would have had to install a gas line from the street to the building to operate kitchen equipment, Shore said. Another facility required the installation of sprinklers to meet fire codes. Others needed renovations to make bath-rooms handicapped-accessible and to widen doorways for wheelchairs.
Shore estimates the reno-vation costs to be in the hundreds of thousands.
But the seniors are not convinced that the JCC has done all it can to accommodate them. After one woman, Teri Cummings, contacted Channel 12, a reporter visited the center on Sept. 1 and the station aired a segment that evening.
"We have to let the com-munity know," Cummings said. She also circulated a petition among fellow seniors, protesting that the "JCC board will not provide a new site for the seniors in the area."
According to a spokeswoman for the city, the letter the JCC received on Sept. 2 with the date extension of Feb. 28, 2005, confirmed a verbal discussion in July that the city would extend the date if necessary.
"We're here to help and do whatever we can possibly do," said Maria Hiatt, special projects administrator for the city. This included helping the JCC search for potential sites and trying to meet the needs of the displaced seniors through the city's existing senior centers.
During the next few months, the JCC will help seniors with the transition, Shore said. Jewish Family & Children's Service is providing counseling through ElderVention, a pro-gram of the Area Agency on Aging.
The JCC also will work closely with the federation, the city, the Area Agency on Aging and United Way to continue pro-gramming for seniors living in Central Phoenix, according to the Sept. 2 JCC press release.
The JCC is talking with nearby synagogues, including Beth El Congregation and Beth Joseph Congregation, about possible programming, Kanefsky said.
The federation is trying to bring together the different parties to facilitate the relocation in the least disruptive fashion possible, said Adam Schwartz, fed-eration executive vice president. "We continue to work very hard to find a solution that will take care of their needs. There have been literally hours of effort that have gone into it. ... (The seniors') needs are a very high priority for us."
In addition to onsite meals, the senior center delivers about 60 hot kosher meals to homebound individuals. The JCC is working with existing food providers to accom-modate the approximately 15 homebound elderly who request kosher meals, Shore said. The balance would be picked up by other centers.
The JCC will coordinate visits to nearby city senior centers to introduce program users to these alternate locations, Shore said. Each serves hot meals, although none are kosher.
The Manzanita Senior Center, at Northern and 35th avenues, is about four miles from the JCC senior center. The Sunnyslope Senior Center, at Eighth Street and Vogel Avenue, and The Squaw Peak Senior Center, at 29th Street and Campbell Avenue, are both about six miles from the JCC Senior Center.
The JCC plans to expand its senior services at its Scotts-dale facility as well, Shore said.
Yet distance and transpor-tation are issues for many seniors who live near the Central Phoenix location and rely on Dial-a-Ride and other services to get to the center, Reichsfeld said.
Many seniors describe the center as a "home away from home." For some, it offers their only opportunity to socialize. "All these people would be stuck in their homes," said Harry Sternberg, a senior who leads bingo games at the center. "They want this place, it's their family."
The center also offers exercise, social, educational and Shabbat programs; holiday celebrations; and an intergenerational program with JCC Preschool children.
"(The seniors) believed that they're being ignored because of their age," Reichsfeld said. "A commitment was made ... when the JCC closed at 17th Avenue and Maryland that they would never be aban-doned in this part of town ... They don't understand why the community or the rabbis are not stepping up and trying to help."
Schwartz said he is confident there will be a solution that addresses the needs of the seniors. "Unfortunately, it won't be in exactly the same geographic area. But I hope it will be in an area that will be acceptable to them."
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