Howland Township Senior Center re-opens after renovations

Senior citizens are back in their happy place playing mahjong and card games at the Howland Township Senior Center.

The building was closed for three months during renovations upgrading the kitchen with new equipment and flooring, repaving the parking lot and making things more accessible. 

With doors open again it's not just a building for those 50 and older but provides an opportunity to strengthen.

“It keeps us busy, it keeps us off the streets,” Coleen Loughrey, a Senior citizen said about the activities at the center. “...It really, really is a wonderful activity place for anybody, all seniors.”

“The more active and socialization we have deals with the loneliness, depression and all those other issues that come up for senior citizens,” Mike Wilson, with the Trumbull County SCOPE program said. 

The list of activities offered is long, some challenging physically like in bocce or mentally with table games during Thursday afternoons.

“I was having a little problem with memory loss and I really believe this helps,” Loughrey said about getting together to play mahjong with her friends. 

But for most, coming together around the table is more than just a time to show off some blackjack skills.

“We have people, most of all that we have here that we get along with, we get to know each other … it gives us time to talk to each other, let each other know how things are going with us,” Richard Hartzell, a senior citizen said. 

“This type of program where they have somewhere to come makes a major difference in everybody's life,” Wilson said.

The $300,000 renovations were funded by a Community Development Block Grant secured by the Trumbull County Commissioners and the Trumbull County Planning Commission.