Huntington Beach Senior Saturday
Huntington Beach City Council candidate Edward Pinchiff talked to Huntington Beach Seniors at the annual Senior Saturday event at the HB Pier.
This event was put on by the Huntington Beach Council on Aging (HBCOA), a nonprofit serving the needs of seniors. Mr. Pinchiff is Vice President of the HBCOA.
Huntington Beach has a population of nearly 200,000 of which about 14% are 65 years or older. About 28% of the HB population is between 45 and 64 years old. Many seniors live on a fixed income.
“At the end of the day, we must judge our City and ourselves by how we treat the most vulnerable people in our community including seniors,” said Edward Pinchiff. “It is an honor serving the seniors in Huntington Beach.”
In addition to his activities as Vice President of the Huntington Beach Council on Aging, Mr. Pinchiff volunteers with Project SHIP an HB Fire Department program that inspects homes for fire safety and installs free fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors for seniors. He is also a member of the Huntington Beach Elks which raises funds for programs serving military members, first responders, and children.
Edward Pinchiff has always been empathetic to the senior community in Huntington Beach. Senior citizens told Mr. Pinchiff about their sense of uncertainty and vulnerability. They expressed a number of concerns including the economy, healthcare, taxes, safety and security, community services, maintaining independence, scams directed at seniors, Social Security and Medicare, and financial exploitation.
Seniors are also feeling frustrated with what they see as an increasing lack of ethics and transparency in government and they would like to see government reforms.
Senior Saturday is the largest non-profit Senior Expo in Orange County. Seniors from Huntington Beach and surrounding communities were provided an opportunity to learn more about organizations and businesses in Orange County that provide services to seniors.
Admission to the Huntington Beach Senior Saturday event is always free and this year seniors were treated to entertainment, prize drawings, and food. Over 70 sponsors were present including senior living communities, health professionals, physical therapists, home health care specialists, elder law attorneys, and many more.
In addition to senior issues, Mr. Pinchiff talked with seniors about the services that are available to them in the City of Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach offers a variety of senior services through the Senior Center in Central Park (18041 Goldenwest Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648, telephone 714-536-5600).
Visit the Senior Center for information and services related to recreation, education, nutrition, socialization, clubs and activities, physical fitness including the Hoag Health and Wellness Pavilion, care management, transportation, home delivered meals, social services, SeniorServ hot lunches, and other senior services.
Inside the Senior Center is also the Social Services Resource Center which can provide information on a variety of social services such as senior advocacy, emergency grocery certificates, mobility equipment lending service, daily care call program, friendly visitors, holiday meals, needs and strengths assessment, referrals to outside services, the Surf City Senior Providers Network, and much more.
Huntington Beach Senior Center
There are a variety of recreational classes available at the Huntington Beach Senior Center in Central Park including aerobics, arts & crafts, arthritis chair exercise, ballet, book club, bridge, computer instruction, CPR/AED, dance, drawing, drumming for health, education, fishing, health & fitness, hiking, languages, line dance, martial arts, painting, meditation, pilates, Tai Chi, tap, stretching, ukulele, yoga, zumba, and more. Participants can register online at www.hbsands.org or in person at any HB community center.
Transportation services include “Seniors on the Go” providing door-to-door service to medical appointments, shopping centers, the Senior Center, Rodgers Seniors Center and other locations within Huntington Beach. Escorts are available for those needing extra assistance. Transportation can be reached directly at (714) 374-1742.
SeniorServ provides a hot lunch Monday through Friday at 11:30 am with a recommended donation of $3 for those over 60 and a cost of $5 for those under 60. The SeniorServ office can be reached at (714) 375-8404.
Volunteers with the home delivered meals program deliver 3 meals a day, Monday through Friday, to seniors who qualify under federal guidelines. To qualify a person must be a Huntington Beach resident 60 years or older, homebound, nutritionally at risk, and unable to cook and shop. Meals are a combination of fresh and frozen food which can be heated in a microwave or oven.
Care Managers at the Senior Center offer services to help older adults enhance life, develop long term plans, and age in place. Services are offered to at-risk Huntington Beach residents aged 60 years and older who live independently in the community. Care managers complete phone and in-home consultations to evaluate individual needs and link older adults with services including information, resources, education, mobility equipment, emergency food, and low cost personal emergency systems.
Huntington Beach Senior Center
The Hoag Health and Wellness Pavilion features a state-of-the-art 5,600 sq.ft. fitness center, group exercise room and dance room designed to meet the health and wellness needs of older adults living in and around Huntington Beach.
The fitness center offers a wide selection of cardiovascular, strength training, free weight and stretching equipment made by Star Trac and TechnoGym, as well as a variety of health screenings conducted by Hoag medical staff and partners. Fitness Center Membership is $120 per year for ages 50 to 79, and $80 per year for ages 80 and older. The Hoag Health and Wellness Pavilion can be reached directly at (714) 374-1578.
About HBCOA – The Huntington Beach Council on Aging is a non-profit organization that seeks to enhance the dignity and quality of life of Huntington Beach senior citizens. The Huntington Beach Council on Aging seeks to accomplish this goal by creating awareness of the evolving needs of HB seniors and responding with resources for innovative services and programs. For more info go to www.hbcoa.org and take a look at the monthly HBCOA Outlook on Active Aging Newsletter.
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