Barnstable Senior Center Rebranded to Increase Participation

HYANNIS – A rebranding of the Barnstable Senior Center is complete.

The facility has been renamed the Barnstable Adult Community Center in an effort to include more residents who maintain an active lifestyle and do not self-identify as a senior.

Director of Senior Services Madeline Noonan says the change was made to highlight that the center is for all individuals 50 or older.

“We are looking at a whole new generation of older adults in our community and we really want to make sure that we are envisioning a place where the focus is on the experience and not so much on peoples’ age,” Noonan said.

The change comes just before the center celebrates its 20^th anniversary in June.

Noonan said officials are proud of the work that has been done during the last two decades to improve the quality of life for older people in the community and to keep them engaged.

“It’s a very vibrant place and we really just strive and endeavor to be a welcoming place for all,” she said.

Noonan said the center is a place where older residents can come to connect to reduce social isolation in the community.

“It is also a place where people can engage in lifelong learning. They can pursue creative interests,” Noonan said. “We are also the front door for people to access aging services and caregiver services.”

The center serves community members who are 50 all the way up to Barnstable’s oldest resident, Dorothy Robinson, who turned 106 in January.

“That’s creates a challenge because when we look at that age span that is four distinct generations,” Noonan said.

Last year, Noonan said the town conducted focus groups and a community wide survey which indicated that a lot of people were not using the center because they did not identify with the term senior or feel old.

Baby Boomers, which number around 76 million in the United State, are the country’s largest age group. The oldest of the generation began turning 60 back in 2006.

Recent statistics show that only 10 percent of the participation at the Senior Center is from individuals under 65.

Surveys also indicated that about 60 percent of people favored a name change for the facility.

“When we ask people what is the appropriate term to refer to a person over 50 the response that we get is not senior or elder,” Noonan said. “It’s adult or older adult.”