Beat Story 1

A local senior center closed its doors Monday in the midst of the Coronavirus as confirmed cases exceed 100 in Arkansas.

Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse announced the Springdale Senior Activity and Wellness Center will be closed until March 31 to encourage social distancing in hopes of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The Senior Center serves nutritional meals to senior citizens on weekdays and provides many interactive activities.

Lori Proud, director of the Springdale Senior Center, said this is a difficult time for the community, especially for seniors who are now homebound for the next two weeks and have no family nearby.

“I’ve been here 17 years now, and you think that everybody has somebody, but there are so many people who have no one,” Proud said. “For a lot of people, we are their livelihood.”

Social isolation can lead to extreme loneliness in senior citizens and has been shown to be as damaging as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to Health Resources and Services Administration.

Joanne Glass, kitchen manager at the Springdale Senior Center, said the center is filled with nothing but silence, but for a good reason.

“In the days before we closed, numbers were normal and morale was cautiously optimistic,” Glass said. “Seniors were sad but understood the reasons for closing.”

Proud said the Springdale Senior Center serves nearly 150 senior citizens a day and most of the funding comes from the donations they bring in.

“The people who eat here and come to our activities support the center on a daily basis,” Proud said. “We are going to have more costs because we’ve put those people on the Meals on Wheels program.”

Meals on Wheels serves homebound seniors nutritious meals Monday through Friday. Proud said many of the seniors who normally attend activities at the center have been added to the Meals on Wheels program until they are able to resume business.

“We have several people who would qualify for Meals on Wheels, but through our transportation program we were able to pick them up and bring them to the center,” Proud said. “That was an unexpected expense.”

Glass said the Meals on Wheels routes no longer run Monday through Friday in order to lessen the overall contact between volunteers and seniors.
“We have continued serving our meals on wheels clients, cutting our deliveries to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday” Glass said. “That is sad, but the clients still see us.”

Senior citizens are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and experiencing serious complications, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meals on Wheels deliverers are to follow a strict delivery model, which requires a “no contact” delivery system, keeping at least 6 feet between volunteers and the senior, according to Meals on Wheels People.

Proud said costs are their main concern right now since the center’s doors are closed, especially with the additional seniors being added to the delivery routes. Proud is asking the community to donate whatever is feasible.

“It takes $5 to feed a senior,” Proud said. “There’s no way we will let any senior go hungry.”

The center is also creating care packages to provide to homebound seniors, Proud said.

Diana Osborn, a daily volunteer at the Senior Center, said people can donate essential items to include in the care packages.

“People have donated toilet paper, sanitizer, disinfecting wipes and money donations,” Osborn said.

Osborn said they also packaged up fresh fruits and veggies to be delivered with their meals, along with other necessities like canned goods and crackers.

“Hopefully this will be a short shutdown,” Osborn said. “I just get this weird feeling when it’s so quiet.”

Proud said they will continue serving in any way they can until they can all gather together again.

“They’re my family,” Proud said. “We’re just one big dysfunctional family, but we all love each other very much.”

Glass said she is hopeful this will all pass, and the center will be running like normal soon.

“I continue to pray that God will guide the doctors and our leaders through these scary times,” Glass said.

Donations are being accepted at the Springdale Senior Center and at Shelby Lynn’s Cake Shoppe in Springdale, Arkansas. Proud said they are also accepting donations via PayPal.