[/caption]Judith Martin - The music is Bossa Nova. The moves and stretches can all be
done while the participants in the exercise class are sitting down. It is 1:00
PM in the afternoon. The average age is 75. New Orleans reawakens from the grief of storms and trials to new life for the elderly.
This is a sign that New Orleans seniors are coming back full force, with activities and hope for a very special group. But it isn't just the city that gets a message of hope. It tells others that those who lose a lifetime of memories and whose lives become desperate under terrible conditions, and live through storms and depressions, continue to remain steadfast in their own way, an example for those struggling in a recession. They made it, you can seems the message they seem to give.
No after-lunch naps for this group! These are the
participants in the reborn Lakeview Shepherd Center in the fellowship hall of
the Lakeview Presbyterian Church on Canal Boulevard, New Orleans, La.
The ramped-up programming includes exercises and dance,
theater, crafts, water color, paining, quilt making, card games, basic
technology, lectures, and outings.
Exercise is part of the program of activities for seniorsThere is plenty of parking behind the Presbyterian Church,
with handicapped access available.
A Shepherd Center had existed in Lakeview since the
mid-1970s, and was based in a house owned by a local church on Canal Boulevard
near Harrison Avenue. The people who frequented the Center can be described
essentially as retirees who were survivors of the Great Depression of the
1930s, and GIs and their spouses who had witnessed World War II.
The Center appeared to have been "done for"
forever when the house went under some 8-10 feet of water in the man-made,
post-Katrina floods of August 29, 2005. These floods wrecked or destroyed 80%
of all the property in New Orleans. A lot of people evacuated and ended up far
away from the city, and many of them chose to make new lives there, never to
return.
The Board of Directors of the city-wide Shepherd Center
programming (there are centers in other neighborhoods as well), debated whether
to re-open a Center in Lakeview. (This story is somewhat embellished, but
represents the facts.)
"Is it possible that most of the seniors who lived in Lakeview,
who lost their houses, or saw those houses ruined (almost certainly beyond
recovery), will not return? It must be heart-breaking for them to come back to
see what is left of the homes that they built to fulfill their dreams of
decades ago."
"Let's start up a Center, publicize it through the area
churches, and see what response we get," was the decision.
To the delight of the Board of Directors, it first became
evident that seniors were gradually returning to Lakeview. Not all of them had
given up and gone to live with children in other parts of the country. These
seniors were restoring and rebuilding their houses.
Most importantly, many of them remembered the original
Shepherd Center, and started asking if a Center would be opened again.
Slowly, slowly, the word got out through the local churches
that the Shepherd Center in Lakeview was coming back. Slowly, slowly, at first,
seniors began seeking it out and coming to join in the fun. Now folks are
stopping by every day to look and ask questions. If classes that are not
already part of the programming, such as a particular foreign language, the
Center will look into finding volunteers who will lead such classes.
As of this writing, the Lakeview Shepherd Center, under its
Executive Director, Jeannie Tidy, is bringing in new programs "every
week".
For those age "55 plus", the Lakeview Shepherd
Center provides a wonderful incentive for an individual to get out of his/her house, to come
participate in the activities as interests direct.
Best of all, they will meet people who will join in
affirming that all are survivors of the floods of 2005, and that determination is strong to rebuild lives and make Lakeview a neighborhood of which folks
will be very, very proud.
Contact with the Board finds their message of hope and their desire to have seniors and their families know
that avibrant and active Shepherd Center is here for participation in a
variety of activities, programs, and community venues.
Jeannie Tidy, the Executive Director, can be contacted @ 504-484-0885.
(www.lakeviewshepherdcenternola.org)
To register via e-mail: home@lakeviewshepherdcenter.org.
Enjoying a social and luncheon
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