DURHAM, N.C. — North Carolina’s older adult population is expected to nearly double in the next 20 years. And as more people age, a local senior center is stepping in to help meet seniors’ needs, at no cost to them. 

The face and age of North Carolina’s population is dramatically shifting. Right now one in five people in the Tar Heel State are 65 or older, and according to the most recent Census data, the older adult population is expected to almost double in the next 20 years.  

As more people age, their mental and physical abilities also often begin to decline, which can lead to increasing health problems and a costly need for assistance. But for seven decades, a hidden gem tucked deep in the heart of downtown Durham has offered a safe and active space for seniors, supplying vital resources, services and care. 

Whether looking for a pickup game of ping-pong, a short course in French, or a little breakfast and bingo; on any given day, the Durham Center for Senior Life has it covered. The center’s dedicated staff and nearly 100 volunteers believe all adults, 55 and older, deserve a healthy and independent lifestyle. That’s why they offer a long list of programs and services, free of charge, to feed the mind and body.   

Support Services Manager Niya Carrington knows the need all too well. She runs the food pantry and pop-up grocery store. She says she’s seeing almost triple the amount of seniors seeking food to take home prior to the pandemic.  

"We're serving maybe about 20 people a week. But now we've seen an increase of about 60 people coming to get food boxes, and canned goods and food bags, so it's greatly increased," Carrington told Spectrum News 1, while unpacking boxes in the pantry.    

For 75 years the senior center has been serving the community, but when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the center to shut its doors, employees decided to take their mission outside, offering meals, exercise and even games, bringing seniors together and keeping them actively engaged.  

“We were able to get food donations, and it was so much that we were able to turn our center into a grocery store,” Seanyea Rains Lewis, DCSL’s Executive Director, said.  

Lewis says the pandemic has since taken a big toll on the nonprofit’s resources. This fiscal year, she says it will cost around $2.5 million to keep the nonprofit running.

But she says a drop in giving and corporate and grant funding is causing the center to fall critically short on expenses.  

“It’s a different perspective when you’re going through it and you hear someone’s story, and they’re sitting in their home for months at a time, and they don’t have anyone, anyone to talk to,” Lewis said, fighting back tears.  

“Isolation will decline. Some of our seniors we lost,” Lewis added through tears.  

This is an emotional and personal mission for Lewis. The center’s executive director lost her mother and grandmother after they experienced their own isolation.  

“I didn’t know anything about this. I was young, and I wish they would have been here,” Lewis added.    

She’s now dedicated to ensuring these seniors don’t spend their golden years isolated and alone. 

“Our older adults, they’re the ones with the wisdom, they’re the ones who have been here before us, paved ways, and they need that respect, they need that place, and all of them don’t have that hurts my heart,” she added.  

Tamika Pinkney also saw the need firsthand when she started volunteering at the senior center after losing her mother to dementia. 

“And once I came here, that was it. It just literally did something for my spirit after losing my mom,” Pinkney told Spectrum News 1 while handing out lunch to seniors. 

So she left her corporate job to become the center’s nutrition coordinator, helping to feed seniors, like 82-year-old Judy Vann.  

“Sometimes this is their only meal per day, yes. And there are some people who don’t have a lot of family or children or everything. So this is what they need,” Pinkney said.  

Vann said she was recently diagnosed with early onset dementia, and says this helps her to get out of the house and socialize with her new friends.   

“I love it here. I just, you have so much to do here. You socialize, they play games on certain days. And all the staff here’s great,” Vann said with a smile.  

She said it’s a support system for aging adults, a place to empower seniors to work their minds and move their bodies, and a community that offers a sense of belonging, and a home away from home.  

Vice President Kamala Harris recently toured the DCSL, to highlight the need for improved health care, lower drug costs and funding for senior resources. DCSL leaders say they’re focused on continuing to help provide these vital resources and services to the seniors in Durham, but they need the public’s help.

As the center celebrates its 75th anniversary, leaders are urging organizations, individuals and businesses to get involved with the center, and donate. 

If you would like to get involved or learn about the Durham Center for Senior Life, visit their website.