Southeast Seattle Senior Center

For more than fifty-six (56) years, the SouthEast Seattle Senior Center has served its seniors. We are located in the Rainier Valley and we proudly boast that we are a part of the most diverse zip code in the United States: 98118!

SERVICES PROVIDED: The center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and one day per week in the evening for adaptive yoga and other scheduled activities.

The center provides an array of services. We host a federally-funded Community Dining Congregate nutrition program where the meals are prepared from scratch and served to seniors who might otherwise miss that meal or dine alone. We host weaving, meditation, exercise (i.e. Enhance Fitness), Spanish and computer classes as well as groups and presentations that help seniors with aging issues such as dementia and caregiver support.
We have a variety of arts and crafts, educational and social programs along with card games, word games and other games that are memory enhancing. Highlights include the chess club, Spanish class, learning to paint, computing and jewelry making. The Weaving Lab allows the center to offer a variety of weaving classes that draw an intergenerational mix of people.

Our social worker has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and addresses concerns that arise in this phase of life, including trouble with relationships, housing, depression, behavioral and health issues and more. The social worker is involved with Momentia and has developed a drumming circle that helps people who have dementia.

INDIVIDUALS SERVED. The total unduplicated participants served in 2018 was 2,428 and the center is on track to serve over 3,000 people in 2019, as programs expand to reach veterans and the LGBTQ community. The SESSC currently hosts ALISS (Aging Lesbians in South Seattle) gatherings once a month.

The target population is 55 years of age and older who live in Southeast Seattle and surrounding communities. The combination of the community information and assistance and social work funding provide the capacity to reach out to isolated seniors and veterans, as well as those who attend on a regular basis.

The SouthEast Seattle Senior Center (SESSC) reaches those in the most need and lowest income by maintaining and enhancing the scope of social services and through physical activity designed to reduce the risk of falls and improve overall health.

The SESSC is partially funded through grants from the City of Seattle, grants from Martin Luther King, Jr. County, from community organizations, private donations and, fund-raising events. Additional revenue is generated from membership dues, Planned Giving and Matching Gifts.