During the month of October, my office and I have been working diligently on resolving the issue of the senior center in Clairemont following the closure of LiveWell San Diego. It has been our top priority to make sure that seniors continue to have resources available to them in Clairemont.
In order to address the immediate effects from the closure of LiveWell San Diego, my office collaborated with the City of San Diego’s Park and Recreation Department to ensure that former user groups, classes and programs would continue to meet and utilize the space at the North Clairemont Recreation Center. Our goal is to make sure the lapse in service among existing user groups is not lengthy.
My office and I have worked closely with the Mayor’s office and the Park and Recreation Department to find short as well as long term solutions and to make certain that a senior center continues to operate at the same location. After weeks of meetings, we are pleased to report that we have secured funding to reopen the doors of the former LiveWell San Diego center on a limited basis providing modified services and programming during this transitional period.
The center will be reopened in the middle of November. The hours of operation are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Park and Recreation staff will be supporting all of the existing programs offered by Continuing Education and the County of San Diego’s senior programs. This includes exercise and arts programs, billiards and pool. The main lobby area will be open for regular meet-up card groups, pool players and those wanting a quiet place to sit and read. The center is also designated as a “Cool Zone” and will continue to serve in that capacity.
While this is good news, this is by no means a permanent solution. We want to assure seniors that they will have a space to meet, recreate and access resources while the City works to identify an alternate provider. In the meantime, our office will continue to work with various City departments to replace LiveWell San Diego with an alternative provider that can operate and deliver high quality services. To assist with this process, we are calling on the community to offer their input as to what kind of services will best be utilized at the facility.
If you have any feedback and/or questions, please feel free to contact our office.
202 C Street, 10th Floor
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 236-6616
chriscate@sandiego.gov
