New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
“NEW BEDFORD – Buttonwood Park will once again be home to a traditional senior center.
The New Bedford Council on Aging is shifting Adult Social Day Care services from Buttonwood Park to the Brooklawn Community Center in the North End and the Rosemary Tierney Community Center at Hazelwood Park in the South End. The Buttonwood Senior Center will revert to a traditional senior center and feature activities like bingo, wellness instruction, social gatherings, and educational offerings. The changes take effect May 13.
“We are constantly evaluating our programming and listening to the feedback of those served at our centers,” New Bedford COA Director Pamela Amaral-Lema said. “The return of traditional senior center programming to Buttonwood and moving social day care services to the North and South Ends of New Bedford will result in the COA offering better services to the City’s seniors.”
The last day for services at their current locations is May 10. Starting May 15, Buttonwood will only host traditional senior center programs and offerings, while Hazelwood and Brooklawn will only service Adult Social Day Care participants.
Special events will be held the week of May 13 to celebrate the new locations. Adult Social Day Care participants will enjoy a luncheon on May 13 at the Fort Taber Community Center, while the Buttonwood Senior Center will host a catered lunch and entertainment on May 17. Reservations are required for both events and can be made by calling the COA at 508-961-6250 by May 8. All City seniors are invited to stop by the Buttonwood Senior Center that week, grab a calendar of events, and fill out a survey indicating what programs or activities they’d be interested in.
The move comes a year after the COA consolidated the Adult Social Day Care services to Buttonwood and shifted traditional senior center programming to Hazelwood and Brooklawn. The COA decided to reverse this decision after achieving higher staffing levels, assessing current demand for services, and exploring the ability to use multiple locations to cater Social Day Care programs to seniors’ wellness levels.”-City of New Bedford.
