The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Pftug; Gai-toct-th-ration-o-et-tro-ttteo-tttpt?, Mun Recreation Contra tourod mango: nubile new u put of Education Nook ocuvmoo.HoroDoromy Dixon iiuiikiiiu,atttuor-ttotNettrateettoootttat"tth ooeottttitareqorgiittoutmdtatttrt_ William of Waterloo Sonlov Volunteer-ol-tho-Yoar awards for 1983 are: front, left to right, Non Batcock and Hilda Wagner; roar, loft to right, Alma Noll. Arnold Wagnor and HM. Krm. Improving life’s -iriiiijiitiiiil We. "crunch Chronlcle Staff ll you think the Adult Recreauon Centre ls just a place where little old ladies and men go to sit around and Nay ends, thlnk 93am. . Growth of Adult Rec Centre tribute to decade of service In the decade since its opening in November of 1974, the King Street centre has evolved from a small three-person operation providing a handful of recreational programs to a multi-purpose facility coordinat- ing a full range ot services to this city's senior popnlation. . "We're not a facility where little old ladies with blue hair or smoking old men go to talk, play crib and checkers," said Adult Recreation Centre (ARC) Program Ctr.ordina- tor Kathy Durst. "We're a very vital part of this community's social service delivery system. We've worked hard to become a multi-pur- pose centre that offers recreational, informational, educational, volun- teer and health services." Waterloo's first senior citizen centre was established in 1966, he recalled, in the basement of the former library building, which is now the headquarters for the Wa- terloo division of the regional po- lice. According to Waterloo Communi- ty Services Director Ken Pf1ug, this city's venture into the field of services to the elderly is a recent step, begun less than 20 years ago. "At that time the Red Cross was providing programs for seniors on a voluntary basis, the city was offering some, and there were pro- grams evolving on their own. The city felt these programs needed some co-ordination, that there needed to be assistance for the programs that were operating." Pflug said. In July of 1969, the seniors' facility was moved to a house on Albert Street, and by the early TOs the increasing demand for services made it apparent that a larger, more centrally-located centre was necessary. - _ Construction ot the Adult Rec Centre, which has remained large- ly unchanged in the Intervening years. was an expensive and ambi- tious project for the city at that time. Ptlug said. The city paid "top dollar" for the King Street south property, 8102.000. and the cost of building the centre was $402,000. m its first year of operation, ARC had a paid staff of three and a total annual budget of $41,650. -- _ Durst joined the centre's staff in Sept. of 1975, as program co-ordin- ator. and she recalled, programs were "limited to scope" and volun- teer help was "minimal," approxi- mately " people. Boy, have things changed since. Geared to fulfil Now a visitor to the ARC could be helped by an one of its four full-time and {iv} part-time staff members, not to mention its more than 350 volunteer helpers. And, rather than having it pro- grams to serve the public, the centre now provides " services, ranging from recreational events like carpet bowling or card games, to senior outing daycare; the ARC Travel Club to medical clinics and hearing tests; courses on pre-re- tirement planning to a myriad of craft and special interest activi- Needed co-ordination ties. Durst said the ARC program schedule ranges from those which challenge the active senior citizen to those which provide support for the frail. All activities are geared towards htitiiment of a “statement of purpose" which Durst drew up five years ago: "We believe that most older per- sons have the wisdom. resources and creative capabilities of ver- WATER” CtfRtMttXE. WWY. MAY 2, 1964 - PAGE 6 balizing and directing their oww quality of lite utilizing the Adult Recreation Centre " a motivation- al and provisional (one; however, some older persons, more vulnera- ble and shy, can also cope with the complexities of life if given the support and encouragement of the Adult Recreation Centre. There- fore, bearing in mind the integrity and dignity of the older person. the Adult Recreation Centre seeks to make available programs and ser- vices which offer the opportunity for personal growth and develop- ment and a choice of independent living style." They mast be doing something right, because registration at the centre, open to adults 40 years and older, has skyrocketed. Durst said that when ARC staff did its first "head count" in 1980, 1,518 seniors were registered; by December of Isiah. mi: nurntier -had jumped to more than 3,500. Because Canada's is an aging population, Durst said, the demand for seniors services can only grow and the future will be challenging for facilities like the Adult Rec Centre. "Statistically, the population of people over 65 is growing at a faster rate than other segments of the population, and that will contin- ue," she explained. In 1901 there were 225,000 people over 65; by 1981 that number had grown to 2.4 million, and by the year 2021 more than five million Canadians will be Currently in Waterloo, it is es- timated that there are 9,350 resi- dents over the age of 55, or almost 20 per unto! the total population. "senior citizens." Durst added that it is not only because of the increasing size of, but also the changing makeup, of the seniors population, that there is the demand and need for more varied programming. She noted that ARC has seen the most dramatic Increase in the numbers of adults 80 years and older, who still live at home and use the centre, which means there must be further development of in-home support services. But, she stressed. the thrust of ARC efforts in the coming years will be in the field of intergenera- tional programming - the develop- ment of programs designed to close the gap between the young and old. "We believe seniors are a part of the community as a whole and feel the young are losing when they don't have a chance to interact with our seniors. We all lose with an age-segregated society," she said. The ARC. however, also faces more immediate challenges of a more basic nature. Because of the very success of its programs. and the fact that it is also used by approximately " other community groups for activities. the centre is now faced with a severe shortage of space. l Both Pnug and Durst agree that the future course of seniors' pro gramming in Waterloo must be towards the establishment of satel- lite facilities throughout the city. To this end Durst will be undertak- ing a needs analysis of the city's population to determine where the "pockets" of seniors are and where the satellites would be beat heated. In a move to overcome this problem, ARC staff have started to move some programs to other fa- cilities in the city. Activities planned to mark the ARC's anniversary year included a implanting last Friday, plus a birthday dance Saturday, June 2 and a dinner/dance in October. In-home support Satellite program