Mattapan senior citizens have always been active and on the move, but starting this week they won’t have to look far to find a high-quality program geared towards their age group.

The Mildred Avenue Community Center debuted a renovated and repurposed space in their facility, which is connected to the Mildred Avenue School, last week to a host of local senior citizens. This week they expect to begin a full slate of programming.

“Just think about having a place to go from 9:30 to 1:30 p.m. on a Tuesday or Thursday when you don’t want to stay home and watch Maury Povich or Jerry Springer, but you want to get out and socialize,” said Mattapan’s Barbara Crichlow, who has helped lead the effort to start the program. “The program will be a safe space to go and a place you’ll enjoy going to…I have friends that go all the way to the Kroc Center (in Uphams Corner) for the pool, or to Geneva Avenue for various activities, or even to the Y in Roxbury. Now we’ll have a center in our own neighborhood, and we don’t have to go somewhere else.”

Boston Center for Youth and Families (BCYF) director Marta Rivera and Mildred Director Jeff Jackson walked the seniors through the repurposed facility on Jan. 31 and announced the program would operate from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with a lunch component. Mattapan has several adult daycare programs that require one to qualify financially, and it has some senior programming, but the BCYF did not have a drop-in program in the neighborhood for seniors until Crichlow and the late Thelma Burns began advocating in 2021. A first meeting occurred on Dec. 8, and there was unanimous approval for the idea. Seniors listed programming like computer training, exercise, a lunch component, knitting classes, and more opportunities to socialize.

Jackson walked about 40 senior citizens through the facility on Jan. 31 and showed them a computer room where they can get training on how to access their medical patient portals and use a specialized printer to design and make their own greeting cards – an immediate hit with those on the tour. Other rooms included flex space for relaxing and meditating, a karaoke lounge for dance parties, a games room with virtual bowling, and larger spaces for guest speakers – perhaps even a senior movie night.

There was even a podcast facility that had some seniors thinking about starting their own shows, while other seniors were smitten by the chance to sing ‘Baby Love’ at the karaoke lounge.

All in all, it was well-received by all who attended, including representatives from the two veterans’ posts in Mattapan – the Carter and the Ramsay/Toy Posts.

Councillor Erin Murphy said she wanted to make sure the space continued to be operated for seniors even if the school suddenly needed more room.
“When the Murphy School (in Dorchester) wanted to go K-8 several years ago, they needed science labs and those that got moved out were our seniors,” she said. “It’s always a decision between the school and the community center…We have to be able to trust it will stay here. Too often around the city you see the senior space goes first when there’s a school need.”

Jackson said the space at the Mildred is dedicated to the community center and cannot be used by the school.

“We won’t have that issue here,” he said.

Councillor Julia Mejia said she would like to see programming that included resources on education and parenting for the many grandparents who are raising their grandchildren – a need that Raia Warfield of the Suffolk County Family Resource Center said she was interested in providing to the Mildred seniors.

Additionally, Mejia said the new space could be an opportunity for innovation.

“I’d love to see some workforce development added into the programming here,” she said. “There are a lot of seniors who might be retired, but they tell me all the time they’re not done. Many of them still have great ideas and may be interested in entrepreneurship and a side business. It would be nice for this space to offer them a ‘side hustle’ opportunity.”

Crichlow told the Reporter that the official start date ended up being Feb. 7 and the program will continue every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for now. Some tentative upcoming special programming will include a Valentine’s Day Social on Feb. 14, a Black History Trivia Challenge on Feb. 23, and a Boston Fire Department Safety Presentation on March 2.

All programming is free of charge, and Jackson said he envisioned an 8- to 12-week rotation of programming that would change seasonally. Parking is available on the side and in the back of the Mildred Avenue Community Center.