Senior center tech lab installs new hardware

BRAND NEW—A group makes use of some of the 23 muchneeded new computers in the senior center’s technology lab. The purchase was made possible by a $25,000 donation from the city’s Council on Aging. IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers After receiving hand-medowns from city hall for years, the technology lab at the Simi Valley Senior Center is now outfitted with nearly two dozen brand new desktop computers.

The replacement was made possible by the local Council on Aging, which allocated $25,000 of its budget toward purchasing the much-needed PCs.

For the seniors who use them—many of whom are computer novices—the 23 upgraded workstations mean less freezing, crashing and troubleshooting and more time uploading photos of their grandchildren.

“There is nothing more frustrating than a computer that won’t work, and for seniors who are trying to learn how to use a computer, it’s twice as frustrating,” said Barbara Durham, former chair of the Council on Aging’s executive board. “The senior tech lab was full of computers that would not work.”

The Council on Aging is an advisory group of city-appointed senior citizens whose task is to identify and advocate for the needs of seniors in Simi Valley.

Durham presented the City Council with a $25,000 check Jan. 25 to reimburse the city for the cost of the new computers. The same night, Durham retired as chair of the board.

Since it first opened in 1996, the senior center’s tech lab has been furnished with outdated computers once used by city employees. While this was cost-effective, the computers frequently had problems due to their age, said Mark Oyler, deputy director of citizen services.

Before getting the new PCs, seniors were using computers that were seven years old and four generations behind current technology, and five were beyond repair, Oyler said.

“The last batch of old computers that went to the senior center were fraught with problems; they kept having failures,” he said. “It was hard not only for the city to maintain (them) but most importantly it was difficult for seniors who were learning to use computers for the first time.”

The Council on Aging knew the lab needed new computers but the city couldn’t afford to replace them. So it took matters into its own hands, preferring to pay for new ones than to take the city’s leftovers, Oyler said.

“Everyone recognizes the tight budgets that we’re in right now,” he said. “The COA didn’t even ask the city to (pay). . . . They just came to us and offered.”

The city fronted the cost, buying the computers to the city’s specifications—so they could be fully supported by the city’s IT staff—and installing them in October.

Oyler said it’s due to the COA’s “good money management” that it was able to reimburse the city even at a time when donations are down.

After receiving the check, the City Council expressed its gratitude not only for the funds but for everything the Council on Aging does to better the lives of seniors in the community.

“The COA is really a gem here in town,” Mayor Pro Tem Glen Becerra said. “The (senior center) would be a shell without the people inside of it that actually make it work.”

Both the Simi Valley Adult School and Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District teach classes at the senior technology lab. Free times called “Sit and Click” are open to all seniors.

For more information, call the senior center at (805) 583-6363.