Senior center set to re-open

The Schriever Senior Center is expected to reopen next week, after being closed 30 months for removal of a potentially deadly mold and governmental red tape that went with the job.

It was April 19, 2010 – one day before the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster – that elders associated with the Terrebonne Council on Aging activities and meal service facility were evacuated after it was confirmed that stachybotrys was present inside the then 12-year-old structure.

Stachybotrys commonly grows in water-damaged walls, ceiling tiles, insulation, wallpaper, wood and drywall. The greenish-black fungus easily becomes airborne and causes severe respiratory illness.

Upon inspection, the mold was found throughout the structure, including in air conditioning vents. An initial attempt at mold removal was made, but the fungus returned. “That’s when we decided to clear it out to the studs,” Terrebonne Council on Aging Executive Director Diana Edmonson said. “Now, it is just like a new building.”

The 5,000-square-foot structure, originally constructed in 1998 at a cost of $472,000, was shuttered and gutted for treatment beginning August 2010. An original targeted completion date was October 2010, with an estimated cost at that time of approximately $350,000. The final bill for treatment and remodeling totaled $494,881.

The project was not easily completed due to problems with contractors, mediation and a small number of disgruntled seniors waging complaints against TCOA while meeting with other elders during the interim period at neighboring St. Bridget’s Catholic Church.

“It’s been a long, long struggle, but I think we’ve achieved our goal,” Edmonson said as she led members of the TCOA Board of Directors on a preview tour of the facility. “We’re working hard to set an opening date.”

Shelena Griffin is the center’s manager and said although the church was very hospitable for more than two years it would be nice to get back into the renovated facility. “We are just so excited,” she said. “It is larger than where we have been.”

The Schriever Senior Center is equipped with a full kitchen, a central activities room for meals, Bingo and other large group activities.

Ample storage is available, as are side meeting rooms where art lessons and other small-scale offerings are made. The facility is fully handicap accessible. Griffin and Edmonson said the only things needed are finishing touches including interior window coverings and placement of tables and chairs.

“I think it is a beautiful place,” TCOA Board Chairwoman Wanda LeBlanc said. “The colors [casually debated among board members as to if they were light beige or pinkish-white] are just calming. It is multi-functional and has enough space [for participants] to do what they want to do.”

LeBlanc and Griffin said that this and other senior centers are more than a place to simply exist. “Seniors today are a lot more active,” Griffin said. “Many of my seniors are involved in the Senior Olympics. The only thing they haven’t had is ceramics. They will be glad to have that back.”

“You wonder about the reason for senior centers,” LeBlanc said. “What I’ve noticed was that they need someplace for socialization. They are home alone and this gives them someplace to come, talk to people and exercise their minds. It’s not just a place to sit.”

Edmonson and LeBlanc both mentioned that offering meals for senior citizens is more than a benefit or elder entitlement. “For many of these people this is the only meal they get during the day,” Edmonson said. “The economy has hit the elderly and many do live in poverty.”

TCOA Board Member and Houma-Terrebonne Parish Chamber of Commerce Chairman Billy Foster said centers such as this can offer benefits for current participants and be a selling tool for the region.

“What we do as a Chamber is produce commerce, and that certainly can’t hurt the Council on Aging,” Foster said. “The chamber can have people come down here and say when they reach their golden years this is what they have to look forward to. The Council [on Aging] is about serving and accommodating people.”

The Schriever Senior Center will be open on Monday and Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and on Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Participants need only be 60 years old and go through an assessment process.

In addition to the Schriever Senior Center being available as a lunch site and activities facility, the TCOA offers Shady Acres at the same service level. Bayou Towers is exclusively a senior center, while both Montegut and Chauvin have combined lunch sites and senior centers.