By Rose Chavez | PREVIEW Columnist
On Friday, April 14, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Pagosa Senior Center, Archuleta Seniors Inc. will be taking part in the online viewing of the film “Antidotes for Ageism,” an original production of Changing the Narrative and the Boulder County Area Agency on Aging, and discussing it. Come join us.
As the Changing the Narrative website (https://changingthenarrativeco.org/) states, “The film introduces how ageism shows up in healthcare and what we can do about it. Did you know that ageism is a risk factor that impacts social, emotional, and physical health? It shortens lifespans and increases social isolation.
“Ageism shows up in systems, societal beliefs and policies: fewer medical students becoming geriatricians, older people historically excluded from clinical trials and the pervasiveness of ageism during the pandemic. People suffer unnecessarily when structures and systems are consciously or unconsciously rife with ageism.”
The film, 16 minutes, is a compilation of interviews with professionals who serve older adults and are experts in their fields. Learn from their insights about what ageism is and how it shows up in health care settings. Inspire your community to take actionable steps that will remove ageism from health care.
If you would like to have lunch, you must call or text (970) 264-2167 before Friday or by 9 a.m. Friday. The lunch is pork ramen bowl, spring roll, garden salad and fruit. The suggested donation is $10 or whatever you can offer to support our services.
Dine in Monday
through Friday
Join us at the Silver Fox’s Den in person for daily hot meals Mondays through Thursdays downtown at the Ross Aragon Community Center between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Our dining hall is open to all ages and welcomes you all with kindness and warmth.
We provide hot/cold meals for anyone in the community interested in a nutritious and delicious meal for a suggested donation of $10; no one will be turned away. Meals include a main course, side dish, fruit/dessert, organic garden salad plus beverage. Some popular menu items include: Frito chili pie, pork tenderloin with harvest chutney, Singaporean pork ribs, vegetarian lasagna, Hawaiian shrimp with coconut rice and always a beautiful green salad. Many of our items are locally sourced and organic.
Our chef works with a team of local food professionals to hand prepare your meal for dine-in service in our cozy dining room (with an amazing view of the San Juans) or for takeout (via our convenient drive-through). Our menu changes daily.
To reserve your meal for the day, please make your reservation via text or phone call to (970) 264-2167 by 9 a.m. weekdays. We look forward to bringing music to the dining hall as the weather warms.
ASI provides a delicious nutrition center that additionally serves as a community hub where food and other resources/supports are available to help older adults and their caretakers stay independent, active, engaged in our community and living in their homes. Weekly educational and social activities include our healthy aging and yoga therapy class, Mahjong and more.
Also, check out our Senior Discount card for local discounts and perks at http://www.psseniors.org/discount-club.html.
New in-person group: Senior Conversations
Join us Mondays at 9 a.m. for a series of Senior Conversations with local Bill Salmansohn. He will lead the group through a mindfulness exercise and discussion of various topics pertaining to aging in Archuleta County. Explore and discover for yourself answers to your questions and concerns. The meeting will be held at the Senior Center in the dining hall.
Free seasonal art class
The next free art class at the Senior Center will be Tuesday, April 25, at 1:15 p.m. No reservations are required, but space and supplies are limited, so be sure to be there by 1:15 p.m. The class will last approximately an hour and a half.
Not really art, but certainly creative, this craft class will explore how you can transform a simple washcloth into the cutest little spring bunny. No art skill is required for this class, just a desire to have fun and learn how to use your hands and your skill into shaping a little bunny from a washcloth.
All materials will be provided including the washcloth, trimmings, scissors and glue. This is suitable for the grandkids provided they are over 8 years old, and friends are always welcome to join us. Our teacher will be Denise Fisk, who is a retired elementary art teacher from Iowa.
Come and enjoy the camaraderie and take home something so cute your friends will be jealous.
Scrapbooking Club
The Pagosa Springs Scrapbooking Club holds monthly meetings the second Saturday of each month at the Senior Center.
This creative tradition has been happening since 2005, started by Melissa Bailey, and was continued by Kathy Ruth through the years. The group met in the Senior Center dining room until 2020, took a break due to COVID and then resumed meetings in the Community Center.
They are truly excited to be meeting in the Senior Center dining area again. They will meet each month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to be creative, share ideas, connect with friends, learn new techniques, share supplies and indulge in a potluck lunch together.
Bring your scrapbooking projects — or any crafting project that you may want to work on with the group. If you would like to be added to the mailing list to receive notifications each month of the upcoming meeting along with handy tips and tricks for scrapbooking, please send your request to copenhavercreative@gmail.com.
COVID-19 test
kits available
Stop by the Senior Center to pick up a pack of six free COVID-19 tests kits for your personal use. These kits are available to anyone in the public who needs affordable access for health promotion and disease prevention.
Text reservations
Don’t forget that we also offer a convenient texting service for you to communicate with us. Text us at (970) 264-2167. When texting, please include your name, phone number and the days you want a meal. If you are canceling a reservation, please include your name, phone number and the days you want to cancel.
Texting services are available for dining-in meal reservations, Grab-n-Go meals and Meals on Wheels recipients.
Mobile food pantry service
The Senior Center would like to remind the community about our mobile food pantry services we provide in partnership with Archuleta County MET to seniors age 60 and older throughout most areas of Archuleta County.
In order to participate in this program, community members must visit with Barbara Noriega at the Senior Center, located in the Community Center, to fill out an application to qualify for the mobile pantry service.
The application, called the dining assessment form, is also available on our website at the bottom of the Community Cafe page: http://www.psseniors.org/community-cafeacute.html. For more information, contact us at (970) 264-2167.
Admin volunteers needed
The Community Cafe at the Senior Center is requesting volunteers to help with our front desk pickup meals and in the office in administrative tasks. Please call or text us at (970) 264-2167 to volunteer or for more information.
Board vacancies
The Archuleta Seniors Inc. (ASI)Board of Directors has multiple vacant positions open.
The terms are three years with an option to renew for an additional term. Potential candidates should be at least 21 years of age or older and must have a passion for adult and aging services.
Community Cafe menu
Thursday, April 13 — Tilapia with dill sauce, rice pilaf, blueberry cobbler, garden salad, fruit and milk.
Friday, April 14 — Tonkatsu pork ramen bowl, spring roll, garden salad, fruit, lemon bars and milk.
Monday, April 17 — Chicken Parmigiana, egg noodles, green beans, garlic bread, garden salad, French apple tart and milk.
Tuesday April 18 — Beef chili Frito pie, peach cobbler, garden salad, fruit, vanilla yogurt and milk.
Wednesday, April 19 — Mushroom and spinach quiche, asparagus hollandaise, garden salad, strawberry shortcake and milk.
Thursday, April 20 — Crispy cod with tartar sauce, wilted spinach, fruit salad, cinnamon coffee cake and milk.
Friday, April 21 — Beef meatloaf with roasted herb potatoes, garden salad, fruit, bread pudding and milk.
Grab-N-Go meals
Grab-N-Go meal reservations and cancellations are required. Please call or text by 9 a.m. the morning of the day you want to pick up a meal. A suggested donation of $10 helps to sustain our program. No one will be turned away for their inability to donate. For ages 59 and younger, the cost is $10 also. Please call or text us at (970) 264-2167 to make a reservation.
Meals on Wheels
We deliver fresh Meals on Wheels five days a week (and provide frozen Meals on Wheels for weekends) to homebound Archuleta County residents. Call or text us at (970) 264-2167.
Requesting donations
ASI has an immediate monetary need to support ongoing operations and programming that provide critical services to some of the most vulnerable in Archuleta County. Please consider donating.
You may mail your donation to P.O. Box 3444, Pagosa Springs CO 81147 or please visit our website: http://www.psseniors.org/. Donation checks can be written to: Archuleta Seniors Inc. We are located at 451 Hot Springs Blvd.
For more information about ASI, please visit http://www.psseniors.org/.
