WISE COUNTY, Texas — It’s not a doctor’s office, but at the Decatur Senior Center in rural Wise County, a group of abuelitos (grandparents) receive just the right medicine they need.
Twice a week, the sound of laughter and music fills the center as the group of seniors walks in.
Compliments from Abuelitos Unidos de Wise County Director Cynthia Alvarez uplift. Every greeting comes with a hug.
“I think we needed this in Wise county,” Alvarez said. “It just exploded. It was crazy, it was like the community was waiting for this.”
She and her husband, Rigoberto Alvarez launched the program in January to provide resources to their community.
The center existed before the program came to fruition, but Spanish-speaking programming was non-existent.
“That was a big problem,” Cynthia Alvarez said.
The married couple, already working two full-time jobs, sought out to change that.
Now, instead of bingo, the abuelitos play the game of Loteria for hours.
Volunteers cook and serve the seniors a hot lunch. For Florentino Dorado, the twice-weekly opportunity to socialize is a delight.
“They make me laugh,” Dorado told WFAA in Spanish.
For three hours, the laughter is non-stop and the seniors try something new every time.
The abuelitas have even started their own ballet folklorico group. Their message? It’s never too late to come out of your shell.
“Just the other day a lady said, ‘I would like to dance, but I know I can’t’ and another lady said, ‘No, you can,’” Cynthia said.
They’re encouraging each other through what is often a difficult stage of life.
For 73-year-old Maria Lara, the program has been life-changing.
“I was missing something, and it was this,” Lara said. “Personally, it has helped me open up and ease all of the stress I had.”
Rigoberto’s own parents are among the group. Like many, they grew isolated during the pandemic.
“They’re just stuck at home not doing anything all day long, and this has done a lot for them,” Rigoberto said.
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension’s Jacqueline Gonzalez-Albernas is the group’s fitness instructor. According to Gonzalez-Albernas, many of the seniors have recently lost their life-long spouses.
“They’re all lonely,” Gonzalez-Albernas said.
It’s a reality she quickly discovered on the first day of the program when she handed them a questionnaire. It asked the seniors if they’ve felt worthless in the last seven days.
“Some of them said yes,” Gonzalez-Albernas said. “That is so bad. The only thing I said to them is: ‘Get ready, you’re not gonna feel that way anymore.’”
Months later, the program has bridged the gap for the seniors and allowed many of them to overcome depression and anxiety.
“It’s about healing, coming together, social interaction, I feel like this is therapy,” Cynthia Alvarez said.