Local seniors who visit the Shenango Valley Senior Community Center in Hermitage leave feeling better about themselves, said its director, Floy Moreira.

She said the senior center not only gives seniors a reason to get up and get dressed in the mornings, but it also helps keep older adults in their homes longer and "away from loneliness."

Shirley Skibo of Sharon said she has participated in senior center activities for three years.

"It's wonderful," Ms. Skibo said. "There are nice lunches and nice people. Plus, it gives us something to do and allows us to be around other people like us."

Ms. Moreira said the center provides a place for seniors to socialize. She said some of the seniors who come to the center don't always participate in the activities, but do enjoy the camaraderie with other seniors.

On average, about 80 seniors visit the center daily.

"Many talk the same language. They know a lot of the same old songs from different eras. They get to meet old friends and they also make new friends," she said.

The senior center is located at 220 N. Buhl Farm Drive, in the refurbished, former Bill Rudge Ministries building in Hermitage, and is an affiliate of the Mercer County Area Agency on Aging. It relocated to Hermitage from Farrell in February after "endlessly" waiting for a permanent home, Ms. Moreira said.

The center used to be housed in the old J.A. Farrell school building, which had some light remodeling done to turn it into the senior center. Plans to do more building renovations forced the center to relocate temporarily to the Wheatland/Farrell United Methodist Church. However, remodeling plans at the Farrell school fell through. Thwarted plans were going to include new senior apartments and health units for doctors. Ms. Moreira said the uncertainty over a permanent place for the center upset many of the seniors.

"The temporary move began to stretch out and we were (at the church) for more than three years," she said.

While the move caused a political controversy primarily between Farrell and county officials, Ms. Moreira said, "Our people were not so much upset about moving from Farrell to here (as) they were upset because they didn't have a center for three years. They wanted a permanent home and were so upset about that, it didn't matter whether it was Farrell or Hermitage.

"We're glad to finally have a place to call home."

Ms. Moreira said the same people from Farrell are coming to Hermitage, but there are also people coming from Mercer, Reynolds, Clark and other areas. At one time in Farrell, she said the center attracted about 200 people, but the number decreased through attrition. Now at Hermitage she said the numbers reach 100 twice a month, with the most popular days usually being Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays when the balance exercise, Tai-Chi and line dancing clinics are offered. She said the seniors who come are a diverse group.

"We're open to any senior, if they are (age) 60 (or older). We're diverse, but we're also alike in that we all want the same things, to be healthy and not be a burden to our kids," she said.

"One of the reasons why people come in here is because they want to be healthy and live a decent life."

The senior center is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and welcomes seniors and the handicapped.

Ms. Moreira said seniors who come on weekday mornings from 8 to 10 a.m. are provided "plenty" to eat at a "beautiful" mini-breakfast of donuts, toast, fruit, cottage cheese, tea, coffee and a variety of sweet rolls. Lunch is at noon. A $1 donation is requested for meals and all activities and events.

Seniors can also enjoy a wide variety of activities at the center. Among the many are music, shuffleboard, bingo, bridge, billiards and exercise classes.

Corie Komarc, an exercise physiologist from Sharon Regional Health System, has been coming to the center twice a week for a year to work on balance exercise and muscle strengthening with seniors. She, along with Judy Krist, music therapist, work with the seniors in the balance class. "I love it. I love working with the geriatric population. They have a special thing about them. Some people love working with little kids, I love geriatrics," Ms. Komarc said.

"The biggest thing is to see them improve and it's remarkable. I try to be motivated and make them laugh so they enjoy it."

Other activities include sing-alongs and concert choir; Mah Jong, a board game similar to Scrabble; trotters, walking, line and tap dancing, and even track and field clinics for distance running, long jumps, throwing and sprinting.

For about 15 years each May, the center has had a plant sale. Local greenhouses donate a flat of plants to the senior center and the plant sale gives seniors the opportunity to purchase different kinds of plants, like tomato and pepper plants.

Ms. Moreira said at least four times per year the senior center must have doctors and nutritionists give talks. They usually address topics like alcoholism and incontinence.

"We're required to do one talk per year on alcoholism and incontinence," she said.

A senior health literacy program is also available. It teaches seniors the basics of dealing with doctors, talking to pharmacists and understanding medicine.

"Many don't know what to ask their doctors," Moreira said.

The program, sponsored by Minority Health, Highmark and Mercer County Health Agency, also offers special sessions like free health analysis.

Other services available at the center are one-hour, one-on-one computer classes; bus trips; eye-glass cleaning and minor repairs; property tax, rent rebates and PACE application assistance; balance exercise class, which helps strengthen the muscles in the body; weekly blood-pressure screenings; monthly blood-sugar screenings; music therapy classes; monthly consumer scam presentations on topics like identity theft; and an adult day-care section for handicapped adults.

The center is having its annual open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, with a health fair set for the same hours and a buffet lunch and Chinese auction from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Community members are being asked to donate items for the auction.