DETROIT – A community center on Detroit’s east side is working to make sure residents, especially seniors, have access to a variety of health and wellness resources.
“On any given Thursday, a large group of neighbors gather at the Mack Alive Community Resource Center on Fischer Street,” said Artina Hardman, Director at Mack Alive. “Many people in the group are senior residents, mostly retirees. All of them are on a mission. We care about the community.”
The mission at the community hub is health matters. That program at Mack Alive encourages neighbors to get out of the house and focus on activities that engage their minds and bodies.
“We know that over the last two and a half years, through all of the isolation, seniors were lonely,” Hardman said. “They were caught in their senior buildings, couldn’t leave, family couldn’t visit. So we’ve made a way.”
The staff helps navigate the group through various activities for three hours each Thursday. Neighbors can get blood pressure and temperature checks. They can hear from speakers addressing critical health and wellness issues. There’s also Keisha Brooks, a volunteer licensed massage therapist.
“The senior population is really underserved when it comes to massage therapy and overlooked,” said Brooks.
Some residents said Mack Alive and its health matters program are changing lives.
“It’s the atmosphere,” said Audrey Godwin. “It’s the love that I feel when I walk through that door.”
Godwin has been coming to Mack Alive for five months now. She hasn’t missed a Thursday.
“They feed you,” Godwin said. “They feed you physically, mentally, and emotionally. That’s what I love about it. I love Mack Alive.”
The community center also offers a variety of activities and free programming. Members said one of the highlights this Thursday was a meditation class. It allowed them to reset and refocus in a secure and supportive setting.
“When you come in, you may be just really downtrodden, head hanging low. But I guarantee you, when you walk out, you will be leaping because somebody listened,” Hardman said.
The nonprofit Mack Alive has been operating in the city of Detroit for more than 30 years.
Click here for more information about its programs and services.