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Laguna Beach Seniors is the hometown nonprofit that operates The Susi Q in the heart of town
and reaches beyond its walls with Lifelong Laguna. Our mission is to help you live it up
and meet the challenges of time. Use these photo links to find out how.

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Patty Quilter, Center Coordinator
pquilter@lagunabeachcity.net
949.464.9535

Front Desk

949.464.6645 
Age Well Senior Services partners with Laguna Beach Seniors and the City of Laguna Beach to provide a weekday lunch program at the Susi Q, from 11:30-12:15. The cost is $5.50 if you are under 60. For those 60+, the suggested donation is $4.50. Age Well also provides coffee and pastry starting at 10:00 am, and Meals on Wheels for homebound seniors.

Use the links below to view the monthly menus on the Age Well website.
To reach Age Well's office at the Susi Q, call 949.715.5462.

Online Tickets for the Holiday Luncheon are sold out. A limited number of seats may still be available. Please contact Christine Brewer at 949.715.8105 for more information.

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Laguna Beach Seniors Looks to the Future

Stu News Laguna (Reprinted by Permission)
Friday January 23, 2015

by Chris Quilter
Laguna Beach Seniors Looks to the Future
By CHRIS QUILTER

Before the Susi Q opened in 2009, the Board at Laguna Beach Seniors accepted a generous offer by savvy marketing consultant Carrie Reynolds to facilitate a “branding” session. Branding? To some of us, that sounded like round-up time at the Susi Q Corral. But brands matter, Carrie taught us, because they are expressions of the promises organizations make to their communities and customers.

After listening to our hopes and dreams, Carrie branded us with a label that startled us: “senior ambition.” Yet it was true, and it still is. Laguna Beach Seniors was founded in 1985. But our celebration this year — “40 Years Strong” — is not a look back. It’s a launching pad. 

“This is a pivotal point in our history,” Board President Tina Haines has said. “We are committed to a transformation that will take us beyond the walls of the Susi Q.” 

Riding the “Silver Tsunami”

The senior center — which was an absurdly ambitious project for the dinky “Mom and Pop” operation we were back when we launched our capital campaign — is now operating at close to capacity. That’s gratifying but not that surprising in a town where more than a third of us qualify for the senior discount down at South Coast Theatre. This unprecedented social change is called the “Age Wave” by some and “Silver Tsunami” by others. The question is: will we ride it or be swept away by it?

Our response at the Susi Q has been a host of supportive services, clubs, classes, and activities that stretch the mind and body. This programming will continue to expand, but the Susi Q also will become a hub for services that reach into the community. The most exciting program on our drawing board is Lifelong Laguna, whose goal is to help us “age in place” in our homes — which nationwide surveys have shown is what the vast majority of Americans want. 

Achieving this goal in any community will require comprehensive and affordable in-home services and involve emerging technologies. In Laguna, we have the advantage of being a wealthy community, but disadvantages too. Half our homes are on hillsides, all of them are expensive, and the housing options for seniors on limited incomes are, well, limited. 

Still, there are positive signs. The City’s efforts to create “complete streets” will benefit seniors on walkers as much as mothers with baby carriages. “Ride-on-demand” transportation would be a lifeline for seniors who no longer drive, and driverless cars would be a game changer. The City’s new Senior Housing Task Force, chaired by Kristine Thalman, who is also on our board, recently recommended that the City explore the feasibility of a “virtual village” as an alternative to the assisted living facility, which the town lacks. 

The Village Movement

The Village Movement began as a volunteer-intensive, grassroots effort to connect seniors with services to help them live at home. One of its distinguishing features, however, is the variability of the “villages” in the communities where they take root. In Laguna, for example, many village-like services are already in place at the Susi Q. We also have a wealth of churches and community groups that have long functioned as villages for their senior members.

Is Lifelong Laguna the prototype of a virtual village? It’s way too soon to say. “It’s a new venture for us,” Tina says, adding that partnerships — including the support and involvement of the City — will be key to the shape and success of Lifelong Laguna. “We have wonderful congregations and organizations in town that are lifelines for their older members. We want to partner with them, learn from them, support their efforts, add our services to the mix, and fill in the gaps that we discover.” 

There are many unknowns and much to learn. But whatever shape Lifelong Laguna takes, Laguna Beach Seniors is enlisting in a global “aging in place” movement, and, as Tina says, “deepening its commitment to those who have made Laguna Beach the town we love and never want to leave.” 

These are the people who have made Laguna Beach Seniors “40 Years Strong,” and we think they would approve this latest example of senior ambition.

LAGUNA BEACH SENIORS
AT THE SUSI Q
380 THIRD STREET
LAGUNA BEACH CA 92651
MON-FRI 9:00-3:00
STAFF CONTACT INFO

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Laguna Beach Seniors is the hometown nonprofit that operates the Susi Q and reaches beyond its walls with Lifelong Laguna. People like you help us make the town we love a great place to live it up and meet the challenges that can come with time. Your generosity entitles you to join this special circle of friends.
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  • HOME
    • WHAT'S NEW
    • WHO WE ARE
  • ZOOM CLASS CATALOG
  • LIFELONG LAGUNA
    • LIFELONG LAGUNA: HOW IT HELPS
    • FREE HOME ASSESSMENT
    • HOME REPAIR PROGRAM
    • THE IPAD PROJECT
    • BE PREPARED FOR AN EMERGENCY
    • LIEFELONG LAGUNA LIBRARY
    • BECOME A LIFELONG LAGUNA VOLUNTEER
    • BUILD AN A.D.U.
    • LIFELONG LAGUNA IN THE NEWS
  • NEED HELP?
    • CARE MANAGEMENT
    • JUST FOR CAREGIVERS
    • NUTRITION & TRANSPORTATION
    • ONLINE RESOURCES
  • GALLERY Q
  • SUPPORT US!
    • LEAVE A LEGACY
    • THE CORNERSTONE CLUB
    • ATTEND OUR EVENTS
    • DONATE NOW!