The Rendez-vous Café is a central meeting spot at the Kingston Seniors Centre.
[Photo courtesy of the Kingston Seniors Association]

By Justine Pineau

KINGSTON, ONT. — For decades, baby boomers have sparked a ripple of changes throughout society. In many ways – due to their overwhelming presence – the world has revolved around their needs.

“Schools were built because we were all entering the education system at the same time. Jobs had to increase when we got out into the work force, housing had to expand when we all started settling down,” says baby boomer Catherine Milks. “And now we’re retiring, putting all kinds of new demands on society.”

Kingston, Ont. has become a magnet for retiring baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964). The Kingston Seniors Association – a not-for-profit organization – is one of the city’s major focal points, taking the lead in offering seniors a space to thrive as a dynamic community.

“Our mission is to keep people fit, engaged and socially active,” says Milks, the association’s membership and communications director. “We know those are the things that keep people out of the health-care system.”

In 2001, the association entered into a joint venture with the City of Kingston to acquire the former Portsmouth Public School at 56 Francis St. The vision was to transform the building into a welcoming and vibrant community centre for seniors.

“We’ve always remained independent from the city of Kingston,” Milks says, explaining how many other senior centres are owned and operated by their municipality. “What they do is very different from what we do here…we’re seniors serving seniors.”

Although the seniors centre’s facilities promote extensive networking, one of the biggest challenges is making sure it stays economically accessible to everyone, Milks says.

Yearly memberships cost $35 per person or $60 per household, with all members receiving a subscription to the association’s monthly publication, Vista.

The majority of the association’s funding comes from membership and activity fees, sales of food, crafts and used books, and other fundraising activities. In earlier years, the association accepted funding from the Ministry of Health.

However, Milks says that after the government created the Local Health Integration Networks, the Ministry’s funding had more and more strings attached to it. The Ministry of Health began treating the centre as a public health unit location, instead of a community establishment.

“We were increasingly being pulled into the medical system, and that’s not what we’re about. So to keep true to our mission of health promotion and well-being, we had to stop taking the money.”

With more than 5,000 members, the association is a key hub for information regarding services and activities available to this aging demographic. By 2031 all baby boomers will have reached the age of 65, and according to Statistics Canada the population of seniors could potentially rise to 23 per cent, compared to 15 per cent in 2011.

“We currently have about 150 programs that we offer, and roughly half of those are fitness oriented,” says Milks. However, she says that none of the programs and services would be made possible without the efforts of their 700 volunteers – the majority of whom are members themselves.

“Our paid staff is made up of 12 full-time administrative coordinators,” she says. “If you look around the centre, you’ll see our volunteers everywhere, serving in the café or in our restaurant, or working as receptionists at the front desk.”

Milks says that the volunteering opportunities offer their members another way of staying busy and involved. Even the majority of the association’s program instructors are volunteers. Chuck Denis, a table tennis instructor, happily promoted his activity during a recent tour of the centre.

Denis who has been instructing for 62 years and playing for 74, says he’d suggested the sport over a decade ago, but the association felt they did not have the room to accommodate the program.

“In 2003 we finally started in the small gym. We had a broken down table, myself and one other guy,” he says. “I remember he asked me ‘do you think this is going to take off?’ but I knew it would just take time.”

The table tennis program now has close to 60 members, and Denis says if he had more room he’d want to expand from ten to 20 tables.

“The comradeship is terrific,” he chuckles, as one of his players celebrates making a winning point.

“People get fairly excited,” Denis says. “There are also many positive side affects linked to this sport. Last year research discovered that playing table tennis actually delays Alzheimer’s.”

The association also keeps members stimulated intellectually with bridge, music, art, language classes, computer instruction, multicultural events, and craft workshops.

“We’re a very active community,” says Milks. “This is a perfect example of what we do here. At least 50 per cent of doing the program is the social aspect,” she says, leading the way into a wood carving class.

Here, members are talking, laughing, and teasing one another. Wood carving instructor, Don McTaggart, is a skilled artist who has been mentoring his peers in the craft since 2006.

“They’re doing candy dishes over there,” McTaggart says, pointing with a proud grin to a nearby work counter. “Everybody is welcome to try this class, from beginners right down to so-called professionals.”

Six of McTaggart’s eight original students remain in the now fifteen-student class.

“I think my ‘yap’ is what keeps them around,” he laughs. “Everyone seems to have a good time, so I must be doing something right!” he says with a wink.

The centre is looking at rebranding itself to ensure that when members walk through the doors, they too can connect with the association’s vision.

“People don’t like walking into a building called the ‘Seniors Centre’,” says Milks.

“They have the connotation that if it’s for seniors and if it’s a centre, well then there must be beds, there must be medication being doled out, there must be people with walkers and wheelchairs, and so on.”

Yet looking around, the centre is none of those things. Although there are devices available to help with mobility issues, the organization is a far cry from a care residence.

While members for the most part love what the centre has to offer, most don’t like the word “senior,” simply because they don’t identify with the fragile stereotype, says Milks.

“We’re the baby boomers,” says Milks, smiling. “We’re the ‘forever in blue jeans’ guys and gals!”