b'Aging in PlaceWorking to make SOMA welcoming to allBY TIA SWANSONLeft: Seniors recently took a trip to the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse.Below: Michelle Wesley, the supervi-sor of Senior Services in Maplewood.I f mid-morning of a midweek in mid-March isseniors. Thats still a bit down, she says. Before thecityas places that are welcoming to all ages.any indication, then Michelle Wesleys phonepandemic, the St. Patricks lunch routinely drew 80In 2016, thanks to the work of those seniors, the rings more or less continuously. or so. The pandemic hit seniors hard on multipletwo towns were awarded a grant to establish an orga-Who said that life slows down as you age? fronts. Even those who remained healthy have foundnization to oversee the needs, both social and practi-Wesley is the supervisor of Senior Services intheir social lives reduced and altered. A significantcal, that would allow residents of the two towns to Maplewood, a post she has had for more thannumber of events still happen remotely. But Wesleystay and prosper for as long as they want to.a quarter of a century. She started working foris working hard to get folks back on board. SOMA Two Towns For all Ages, together with the the Maplewood Recreation Department as a youngShe has a second-floor office in the townshipsSenior Advisory committees that operate in each mu-twenty-something 33 years ago and is now old enoughSenior Center, a modest structure next to the Town- nicipality, have accomplished a good deal over those to take the Over 55 Fitness classes her departmentships DeHart Community Center on Burnett Ave- five years. Each offers to any older adult who wants to participate.nue. It was originally a home, converted to a churchtown now has a She spends her days taking calls from, and plan- and bought and renovated by the township withinfull roster of se-ningeventsfor,localseniors.Itsafullcalendar.thelastfiveyears.Butitslocationisconvenient.nior classes and Interspersed among the monthly health screeningsWhen the group gets too big, the party moves nextactivities.Ma-and nutrition seminars, she arranges holiday lunch- door, to the larger room in the DeHart Center.plewood Mayor es, dinner theater excursions and trips to the Shore,The acquisition of the senior center is part of anDeanDafis, which, she jokes, started as walking trips along aongoingeffortbyMaplewoodtomakethetownwho also is the boardwalk and are now shopping expeditions.more friendly to aging adults. Over the last six toliaisontothe I dont make a ton of money, she says with aseven years, urged on by several strong, older womenmunicipalitys laugh, but I like what I do. activists, both Maplewood and South Orange haveseniorcommit-On the day in question, she was recovering frombeenoverhaulingtownshippracticestomakethetee,notesthat the previous afternoons St. Patricks Day Lunch, forcommunitieslately defined as destination suburbsthetwotowns which she had played host to about 50 Maplewoodforyoung,professionalfamiliesmovingfromthehavebeen 28/ matters magazine / spring 2022'