Rural Senior Centers in Utah Building Coalitions to Strengthen Communities

Between 12,000 to 16,000 senior centers nation wide serve nearly 7 million people age 60 and older each day (Beisgen et al, 2003). With their overall goal to promote optimal aging with dignity and independence, senior centers have been appointed the focal point in most communities for seniors to receive needed social services. For rural senior centers the goal to promote optimal aging is often difficult to achieve. Rural senior centers are often under-funded and under-staffed. In most rural areas senior centers are the only organizations that have programs and resources available to meet the needs of senior citizens. The focus of this project is to help the reader to gain a greater understanding of rural areas, particularly those in Utah. The goal of this project is to form a outline or a template in which rural senior center directors and Area Agency on Aging (AAA) directors can use to assess their senior centers as well as their communities to develop a program that is unique to the values and culture of their communities.