Nonprofit pushes on for senior center

 

A local nonprofit is trimming its expectations of building a community center, focusing instead on a senior center.

“Maricopa is the only city in Arizona without a senior center,” Al Brandenburg said, an officer for the Maricopa Multi Cultural Consortium. “Why not? Why don’t we have one here?”

The group took up the cause last year as reality sank in that the Copa Center would be demolished for the overpass. They formed the Maricopa Multi Cultural Consortium to acquire land and build a building, envisioning meeting rooms, kitchen, stage, classrooms, museum and storage. But that stalled.

In an agreement the City worked with Maricopa Unified School District, seniors now have dedicated space at Santa Cruz Elementary School for recreation. “And that’s wonderful for the moment,” said Bob Marsh, another MMCC founder. “But people need a place to land.”

MMCC will be one of about 30 exhibitors at this year’s Senior Info/Expo Jan. 20 at City Hall.

“We’ve talked to folks,” said Ted Yocum, an MMCC co-founder. “They tell us, ‘We would love to have Mom and Dad living near us, but there’s nothing in Maricopa for them.’”

The needs, Marsh said, are more than having a place to play cards. They want a gathering spot with room for senior programs on health, taxes, exercise, meals and entertainment. They need grant-writing expertise to fund both a building and the programming.

MMCC continues to battle the misconception all seniors have access to Province, which is a high-end, gated community with amenities available only to its residents. Yocum said about a third of seniors are living on Social Security checks of less than $1,000 a month.

2018 is an election year for city council, and Marsh said MMCC is “going to intersect with people running for office” in hopes that a segment of the population with a lot of votes will get more attention.

“There’s a voice that needs to be heard,” Yocum said.

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This story appears in the January issue of InMaricopa.