New Neighborhood Activities Inaugurated as UPO Targets 21st Century Issues and Concerns

When one thinks about Washington, DC community services, the United Planning Organization almost always comes to mind. It’s been that way for more than 38-years - enough time for several generations to have grown-up and become successful, thanks in part to UPO.

Now comes the realization that District of Columbia demographics are changing, and consequently, UPO is making necessary adjustments to its many citywide programs and services.

One adjustment concerns the ever increasing number of senior citizens who call DC home. As more elderly residents require and demand more services, UPO, along with its city partners, operates several activities certain to receive a “thumbs-up” from the senior population.

Project KEEN, is a new UPO acquisition that promises unique services. Formally part of the now defunct Greater Southeast Community Center for the Aging, the project office is located at 4024 Minnesota Avenue in Northeast Washington.

Project KEEN, an acronym for Keep the Elderly Eating Nutritiously, was established in 1974 as an agency designed to assure that seniors in its target area eat proper and well balanced meals. Now serving seniors in Wards 7 and 6c (east of the Anacostia River), the program has expanded extensively during its 26-year existence.

Project KEEN provides those services seniors have come to expect, respect, and enjoy. Among the activities are a congregate meals program that provides well balanced meals, as well as socialization programs aimed at alleviating loneliness and isolation; a home delivered meals program where those who are homebound receive their meals at their residence. The homebound program also makes certain homebound seniors are in physical contact with program personnel.

An Intergenerational Program involves seniors working directly with children in several area elementary schools thus facilitating children’s acquisition of the wisdom possessed by the elderly. KEEN maintains a Nutritional Counseling and Health Promotion Program that stresses exercise and physical fitness for all seniors. New skills are learned via the Recreational and Socialization Program that helps provide quality leisure time.

Headed by Program Manager Elise T. Nicholls, KEEN provides more than 500 meals daily to homebound seniors along with some 200 weekend meals in a congregate setting. Without the excellent services of KEEN, area seniors could be forced to find unhealthy and unhelpful alternatives.

However, Project KEEN isn’t the only new senior activity. Tagged the UPO Washington Seniors Wellness Center, the southeast Washington, DC program was initiated in 1985 as a means to teach and train older DC residents to take charge of themselves, which would ultimately lead to their leading healthier and happier lives. In fact, when observing the activity in action, it’s obvious that their program theme, promoting wellness of body, mind, and spirit among older adults, is foremost on the minds of employees.

Wellness Center’s four basic components are food/nutrition; physical fitness; life-style adjustment; and health education. This broadbased program takes seniors along six tracks of classes.
Following a comprehensive orientation session, seniors decide which sessions best fit their needs. Once selections are made, seniors then “get to work” moving toward their dream of becoming physically fit, trim, and healthy. Class sizes range between 15 and 30 persons with auxiliary classes holding 75 to 100 participants. Thus, comradeship and socialization becomes a programmatic by-product.
“Our goal is to provide comprehensive services designed to address the overall quality of life for seniors,” noted Program Coordinator Dianna Ginyard, adding “services also take care of social, physical, spiritual, and emotional needs for seniors.”

Along with nutrition programs, seniors also receive health education, fitness training, Yoga, and Tia Chi, among others. The classes occur in sessions held Monday through Thursday with Friday reserved for special events.

UPO’s commitment to and services for seniors dates back to the earliest days of community action when the agency seated a Senior Citizens’ Task Force. Today, all neighborhood development programs maintain senior components with UPO headquarters operating its own Weekend Nutrition, Washington Elderly Handicapped Transportation Service (WEHTS), Call -N- Ride, Homebound Meals, Minor Home Repair, senior employment programs as well as Project EASE (Emergency Action Switchboard for the Elderly).

“Our society is an aging society” notes Ms. Ginyard, adding “people are living longer and healthier while also living in a society where people with certain illnesses require assistance with day to day living.” Services provided by Project KEEN, the UPO Washington Wellness Center, as well as the recently acquired UPO Seniors Network of six senior centers, address these very special needs.