Baltimore County Offering 'Virtual Senior Center' For Older Adults Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- Baltimore County's Department of Aging is setting up a "virtual senior center" to give connections and resources for Baltimore County's older adults.
The initiative comes after Baltimore County closed physical senior centers to the public on March 16 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"Our senior centers fill an important role in the lives of so many of Baltimore County's older adults. During this unprecedented time, we're doing more than ever before to expand our reach, innovate, and provide seniors with access to the critical supports they need," Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski said. "We know that many older adults experience feelings of social isolation, and I want to applaud our Department of Aging for all their work to provide personal contact, online programming, and other essential resources in this uncertain period."
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All 20 Baltimore County senior centers now have individual Facebook pages that will let senior center members chat and stay connected with staff and other members.
Find your local Senior Center's Facebook page here.
The centers are also offering online classes for older adults over Zoom. They could take classes in Tai Chi, foreign language, strength training and cooking, or even do group happy hours.
To find the full list of Senior Center Online Classes, please visit www.baltimorecountymd.gov/aging
Since the center closures, the department has served over 8,300 meals to seniors, 33 percent more than before the COVID-19 pandemic, the department said.
They are also working to provide shelf-stable meals or grocery box deliveries with Meals on Wheels for nearly 200 senior citizens who need food urgently.
Department of Aging staff are also assisting with Baltimore County's Saturday food distribution sites at the Hereford and Reisterstown Senior Centers.
Baltimore County Department of Aging staff continue to work remotely, making individual phone calls and have identified other methods of contacting residents, including email, text, and postcards, to provide residents with information about important resources. They have assisted through 46,800 calls, texts, emails and postcards in the last month, they said.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.