10/7/2009 4:32:00 PM Sour economy knocks out last leg of Wallingford senior center
■ Susan Durham (left) and Josefine Morgenroth play bingo at the Wallingford Community Senior Center, which will close its doors in the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., on Nov. 1. courtesy of Wallingford Community Senior Center
From financial instability to a lack of fund-raising power, it was not much of a surprise that the Wallingford Community Senior Center in the Good Shepherd Center would close, said the center's executive director.
The senior center recently announced it would close its doors on Nov. 1.
"In many ways, I'm as sad and going through my own feeling of being shell-shocked by it as anybody," Kathleen Cromp said. "But I have been predicting that we could not keep on this path, that it just was not sustainable and that it was going to collapse."
NOT HELPED BY ECONOMY
When Cromp took her position as executive director more than three years ago, she discovered an organization that was "financially fragile and under great stress." To survive, the organization's business model had to change and its fund-raising efforts needed to be revived.
"We made progress, but we've run out of time," Cromp said.
The center owes building owner Historic Seattle about $70,000 in back rent, and of the 43 percent of the operating budget meant to come from private funding, only 13 percent of last year's budget was supported by fund-raising.
The deficit began in 2004 and became increasingly more severe as the center started accruing debt to Historic Seattle in mid-2007. Then, the nonprofit's board had an almost 100-percent turnover.
"They were just sort of getting their feet on the ground," Cromp said, "and then the economy changed, so that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. For what this new board needed to do to strengthen the organization, the timing was just really bad in terms of what happened with the economy."
With expenses already cut to the minimum, Cromp will make staff cuts effective this week. She also said some outstanding pay is owed to employees.
"When you can't make payroll you really have no choice but to face the situation we face right now," Cromp explained.
STRUGGLES OF INDEPENDENCY
While the reinvigorated effort to fund-raise elicited a bleak response, more than a sour economy contributed to the center's financial collapse.
"Our dilemma is that we're an independent, stand-alone organization, and nobody has our back," Cromp said. "Our independence has really worked against us."
Though the center was founded in 1979 and serves 1,500 people a year, its status as an independent senior center means it paid rent to Historic Seattle.
When the Greenwood Senior Center faced potential closure, the Phinney Neighborhood Association (PNA) took it in - and having that umbrella organization tipped the scales of financial sustainability. Before being under the PNA, the Greenwood Senior Center was under Senior Services, a nonprofit agency that supports seven senior centers throughout the city.
"We haven't had an organization with the muscle to step in and do that (take on the center)," said Wallingford Community Council president Mary Heim. "We don't have the kind of backstop the PNA was able to provide. That just does not exist here yet."
Without the resources to save the center, Heim's hopes the community will pull together to maintain the space as a community space. Currently, there's a steering committee for planning a Wallingford community center, which will assess the needs of the community, including the seniors that patronized the senior center.
But without a timeline for establishing a community center, Wallingford seniors will need to navigate other avenues and other venues for remaining active and social.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR CENTER PATRONS
Joy Byrum started frequenting the center in 1996 for a line-dancing class. Now she's in charge of the bimonthly bingo games, and she helps serve lunch, one of the center's daily programs.
"I think it's sad; I really do," said Byrum, 82. "People just need a place to come to. It's very important to have space like this for people to get out of the house and for people to associate with others in their age group."
Byrum said she'll look into the Greenwood Senior Center, but she's not sure that's a viable option for seniors in the neighborhood who don't drive - especially since many of the center's patrons use the van service that provides transportation to and from the center.
And if the Greenwood Senior Center doesn't work, Byrum said she'll probably just stay home - the last thing she wants to do, she said.
Fellow center patron Eric Hughes, 86, also wasn't surprised by the announcement of the closure, but he said he's not thrilled about it. Hughes first used the center for its computer lab nine years ago, but now he frequents the center mostly for its lunch program.
"I hate to cook. Three days a week I come here for lunch," Hughes said. "You have the social aspect here, too. I'll really miss it. I live five blocks away; this has become like a second home to me."
Like Byrum, Hughes will investigate the Greenwood Senior Center, but not the Ballard center, which they both said is too far away.
SENIOR CENTERS FILL NEED
"Speaking for myself and a lot of others that come here, I live alone, and it's just a space where you feel welcomed and can socialize with other people," Hughes said. "For me, that's a big part of it: You get to feel you're a part of something."
With a sick husband suffering from diabetes and no family nearby, as is the case with many seniors in today's society, Byrum said the center fills a social and supportive gap for seniors.
"I'm concerned this is not the first senior center to close, and I'm concerned it will not be the last," Heim said.
The Wallingford center's closure leaves seven senior centers citywide, with just two in North Seattle.
Wallingford Community Senior Center's volunteer coordinator, Kathleen Byrnes, said the center's closure only takes away a community from a population that lacks society's support and, often, family interaction later in life.
Of the center's $300,000 annual budget, 30 percent comes from the city. Though the level of support for seniors is debatable, some say it's not about neglecting the senior population but the reality of balancing a plethora of needs.
"I think the city is very concerned about it, too," Heim said, "but they're faced with a lot of pressure. There's a wealth of need; it's hard to balance all of those things."
For the time being, the center will continue some programs through October and try to help seniors find other feasible resources.
But Byrnes said, "There's going to be a hole no matter what for senior services in North Seattle."
