It’s Hot Outside. It’s Cool In The Senior Center

by Adele Haeg

Rosa White, right, loves coming to see her welcoming senior center community: it has “never turned anyone down,” she emphasized.

The Dixwell-Newhallville Senior Center was busier than usual Friday — both because of the regional heat advisory and because it was Bingo Day.

“I’m trying to stay out of it,” Linda McCoy — a regular at the 197 Dixwell Ave. center — said about the heat as she laughed and shook her head.

She and her friend Doris Rogers sat chatting and sipping pink lemonade, as more people kept filing in through the door. Almost every table inside was full at noon on Friday, and no one sat on the balcony outside. 

With weekend temperatures expected to top 90 degrees, New Haven has activated “Extreme Heat Protocols,” Mayor Justin Elicker announced in a city alert on Thursday, which will remain in effect until Sunday afternoon.

Park splashpads have extended hours, libraries and senior centers across the city have been designated as cooling centers, and officials are urging residents to hydrate, find air conditioned spaces, and check in on people who might be more vulnerable to the weather. Public schools closed early on Friday afternoon because of the heat, for the second time in three weeks, “out of an abundance of caution.”

Especially in the summer, the senior center “is a safe haven,” said another visitor, Ethel Brown, who is recovering from heart surgery, and taking it easy as she gets her health back. She usually comes to the senior center three days a week, she said.

Gwendolyn Grady, who is an Elderly Services Specialist for the city, said that many of the seniors who come to the center weekly live nearby. For those who do not, there are buses to help them get over to Dixwell. When it’s hot out, the center is open not just to the regulars, but also to people who “don’t have anywhere to go,” Grady said. 

Some overnight homeless shelters nearby do not allow unhoused people to stay during the day. “We invite New Haven to come if they don’t have a place to go,” Grady said. The senior center serves snacks and lunch Monday through Friday, for a suggested $3 donation. 

Grady was also proud to say the senior center offers a “Golden Swimmers” program, for patrons who want to learn how to swim at a nearby pool. There is also indoor tai chi and yoga, for seniors to stay active when they can’t take walks outside.

Rosa White, who stood with Grady before lunch to give a blessing, said she loves the senior center. Especially in summer, and winter, “you need a place to go for comfort,” White said, a place where “no one will turn you away.”

Once White finished singing her song Friday, someone in the crowd spoke up, reminding everyone it was Grady’s birthday. She smiled as they began to sing, and added sing-songy ‘thank yous’ alternating with their birthday song verses. One of the center’s guests came up to hug Grady during lunch, and said, “I’m thankful that you are my leader.”

After everyone sat back down, White said emphatically: “You couldn’t get a better center for cooling.”