Healy Senior Center Will be Closed to the Public from March 23 to April 6

Press release from the Healy Senior Center:

The Healy Senior Center will be closing to the public from March 23 to April 6. “We will evaluate whether it is safe to open again on April 6,” said Nick Vogel, Interim Executive Director of the Healy Senior Center. “We understand the importance of limiting seniors’ access to public gatherings, so we will be closing our doors to the public, in order to protect seniors’ exposure to the COVID-19 virus,” said Vogel.

The Meals on Wheels clients the Healy serves will receive no interruption in service. “Our Meals on Wheels deliveries will happen as normal, as they do year-round,” said Vogel. “Our clients rely on this food and we will not be cutting back our Meals on Wheels service in any way during this pandemic.”

The Social Dining hot lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays will not be served at the Healy Senior Center during the closure. Instead, the hot lunch will be available for curbside pickup at the Healy and doorstep delivery in Garberville and Redway. “It’s unfortunate that we won’t be serving the hot Social Dining meal at the Healy during our closure,” said Vogel, “but we’re pleased to offer our lunch for $7.00 to seniors via a curbside pickup and doorstep delivery program during the pandemic.”

Starting Monday, March 23, residents over 60 years old may call or email the Healy Senior Center before 10:00am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, to order a hot lunch for curbside pickup at the Healy or doorstep delivery to residents in Garberville and Redway. “Seniors can place orders for a hot lunch by phone at (707) 923-2399 extension 3 and leave a message, or send us an email at [email protected] before 10:00am and we will make sure they get a lunch,”said Vogel.

The Healy is currently receiving a heavy amount of phone calls from the community and they ask seniors who are calling to order lunch to leave a detailed message and not to be alarmed if they cannot reach someone at the Healy live. “We know it can be annoying to talk to a machine but if you can’t reach us live, please leave a message or send an email and we will get back to you,” said Vogel. The Healy has a stocked freezer of homemade meals available to the community for $6.00 per meal. “When seniors call or email to order a hot lunch from us for pickup or delivery, they can also add frozen meals to their order,” said Vogel. Vogel said the Healy will circulate a list of the current frozen meals they have available for sale.

The Healy also requests community members under 65 years old to call and offer their time and vehicles to deliver food to seniors. “We are going to need help from safe and responsible drivers with a valid driver’s license,” said Vogel. “Please call us, email, or reach out to us via Facebook if you can help deliver food to seniors. We are building a list of community members we can rely on when a senior needs a food delivery. We’re grateful for the help.” Vogel said he’s concerned about the effect the viral pandemic will have on the local senior population. “Many seniors report feelings of isolation and loneliness, which are proven to be detrimental health effects.”

Even though it’s stressful to be isolated, the Healy Senior Center strongly recommends that seniors follow official guidance from the State of California and the County of Humboldt on sheltering-in-place and avoiding public gatherings. “We also urge Southern Humboldt residents to check on your senior neighbors, try to keep a distance of six feet or more to protect them during your visit, and see how you may be able to help them during this crisis. Let’s keep our vulnerable seniors fed and taken care of during these worrisome times.”