Since mid-March, Vida Senior Center has
recorded the exercise classes, most of which are
taught in Spanish. The effort aims to keep older
adults engaged during the pandemic with a
touch of Latin flair.
“There is no physical connection now, but there
is an emotional connection and we’re trying to
do this in different ways,” says Blanche Cotlear,
the center’s executive director.
Besides exercise videos, the group has also
recorded their nutrition tips and relaxation classes
and shared information about COVID-19 in Spanish.
The center also usually provides services such
as free meals and health screenings, and has
adapted to provide those things during the crisis
as well: It is offering medication monitoring
and counseling sessions over the phone, and
coordinating the delivery of meals to almost 200
of the more vulnerable clients.
Cotlear says feeding the social media accounts
with video classes was a creative way to keep
her clients company in times of social distancing,
when many might feel isolated and scared.
“We are the second home for many, many
Hispanic seniors,” especially those who are low-
income who have no family nearby or whose
relatives live abroad, she said.
Jovina Guillén de León, a 67-year-old from
the Dominican Republic who attends Vida
Senior Center, recently followed one of the
online exercise classes in her kitchen while her
roommate filmed her moving around.
“We have to thank God for the years we’ve lived,”
says De León. “And also do our part by telling
family members that in life, everything passes.”