Seniors ‘hungry’ for conversation: Center director contemplates uncertain times

It’s not business as usual for Island seniors since the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic became a reality last March.

In better days, many came to the town’s Senior Center for activities and interaction with one another. But now they are “hungry” for conversation, said Director Laurie Fanelli.

The Silver Circle, a weekly program that provides a place for socialization, special activities and lunch for participants, has been able to meet outdoors once a week for the past few weeks. On October 22, they held an “Oktoberfest” with the use of special patio-warming lights.

Many other activities have had to be curtailed because of the pandemic, Ms. Fanelli said.

At another Silver Circle gathering, meant to go from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., many attendees stayed to talk with one another until about 5 p.m.

“They were just so engrossed with one another,” she Ms. Fanelli said.

To protect their health and avoid spreading any illness from person to person, Ms. Fanelli and other staff and volunteers haven’t been able to make house visits.

But they’ve been food shopping for seniors and meals are delivered five days a week. Two of those meal delivery days are town sponsored, while the other three are funded through a state program.

Early this spring, Islanders Brett Surerus and Alex Graham created the Shelter Island Action Alliance, which enabled donors to support local restaurants that in turn provided meals for healthcare workers and senior citizens.

Ms. Fanelli praised that effort for helping seniors and organizing restaurants to do the cooking, vital to keeping their businesses afloat at a time when their regular customers could only pick up food from time to time. Restaurants were only able to provide take-out food until recently, and even now, they’re limited to the number of customers who can be on their premises at any one time.

Every day, seniors get a wellness call from staff or volunteers to assess their needs and provide some conversation.

Still, it’s not the same as having the regular activities, Ms. Fanelli said.

“There’s a lot of anxiety and no real parameters” to guide what can and can’t happen, she said.

She understands it’s difficult to coordinate what’s allowed and what’s not when there are constant changes determined by the state, county and local officials.

But predictions that the pandemic could last at least through next spring has people becoming more concerned, she said.

Right now, with the few activities that are safe, all are being staged outside. Ms. Fanelli worries that when winter frost sets in, there will be more severe limits to what the senior center can offer.

But for now, the conversations are continuing.