Senior Center Marks 10 Years of Growth : Simi Valley: Since its opening, facility has broadened services it offers to appeal to people age 50 and older.

Aerobics classes were big. So were free hearing checkups and legal advice.

Hundreds of Simi Valley’s older residents dropped by the Senior Citizens Center on Wednesday to celebrate its 10-year anniversary, scooping up pamphlets on everything from adult education classes to foot care.

In the center’s oleander-shaded courtyard, seniors chatted with representatives from more than two dozen agencies offering services tailored toward older residents.

Over the years, the center has broadened the range of services it offers to appeal to residents age 50 and up, said Judy Collins, the city’s deputy director of community services.

“The younger people are coming in for our computer classes while, at the other end of the spectrum, there are people who rely on us to help them get around,” Collins said. “Our goal is to offer as many services as possible, all under one roof.”

For a city its size, Simi Valley has one of the smallest senior citizen populations in Ventura County.

Just 5.2% of the city’s population, about 5,300 residents, is 65 or older, according to the 1990 census.

But many of those residents are vigorous supporters of the center, Collins said.

Since the center opened in 1984, the average number of seniors visiting each day has grown from 98 to 305.

Over the same period, requests nearly tripled for Meals on Wheels, a home-delivery meal program that is one of the most popular services offered by the center.

“Over the years, the seniors have really been involved,” Collins said. “They’re the focal point of the facility. Without them, it would not be here.”

Walking briskly from table to table, Betty Lipman, 70, amassed a large stack of brochures. The retired social worker now spends much of her time offering her services free of charge at the center.

“It’s very useful to have all these agencies here at once,” Lipman said. “It helps people match what they need with what’s available.”

At a table for OASIS, a nonprofit agency that helps older residents stay out of nursing homes, Lollie Rodgers, 70, said she gets extra satisfaction from helping her peers.

“It seems like as you grow older, you really learn the importance of what it means to take that extra step to care for other people,” Rodgers said. “You realize that because you know at some point you might need some of that care yourself.”

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While strolling through the information fair on her way to a drama class, Ruth Bynon, 79, discovered that free legal advice is available at the center. “It will be a big help for wills and at tax time,” she said. “It’s so nice to see that the city does so much for its seniors.”

Pauline Naylor, a longtime volunteer at the center, said she helped get the senior center up and running.

Naylor, 84, decided to devote her energies to opening a center after she retired as an accountant for the Simi Unified School District.

“There just wasn’t a decent place for people to gather,” she said. “Look at it now. I’m very proud of how we’ve grown.”

After the information fair, City Council members Bill Davis, Judy Mikels and Sandi Webb honored longtime volunteers with certificates of appreciation.

Meanwhile, across the courtyard in the game room, four men concentrated on a game of pinochle.

When asked why he was not at the celebration, Richard Hautzenroeder, 67, laughed and shrugged.

“Listening to politicians is no fun,” he said. “I’d rather play cards.”

FYI

The Simi Valley Senior Center at 3900 Avenida Simi is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Most events are free. There is a $2 charge for lunch, which is provided daily. Classes offered at the center by the Simi Valley Adult School are $5 to $10. For information, call the center at 526-9237.