Oasis Senior Center: Seniors struggle with mental health during COVID-19

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - 85-year old Jim Bryan has used the Oasis Senior Center in Orcutt for 15 years.

"At my age if you don’t keep doing something it won’t be long until you can’t do anything anymore," said Bryan.

Bryan is one of 17,00 seniors who thrives on being with friends and doing various activities at the center.

But since the Coronavirus pandemic, many of those activities were scaled back, and capacity decreased from about 50 people to Less than a dozen.

"There are only 10 of us in here in the room the chairs can’t be moved. We have to be kept far apart like they are now," said Bryan.

Staff members say some of the seniors are now struggling with depression and anxiety.

"Our biggest issue right now is that our seniors have been cooped up they’ve been closed in. Yeah there’s a lot of depression and anxiety and things like that setting in," said CEO and President Doug Dougherty of the Oasis Senior Center.

The center is focused on maintaining a safe environment while also offering activities.

As the pandemic continues, the center is reaching out to all of its seniors by phone, even on their birthday.

Staff members say there’s no easy answer for how to handle this.

"We’ve actually even lost some seniors during this Covid thing and we’re walking such a fine line because the last thing we want is to get our seniors exposed," said Dougherty.

"My hope is that we can get more people in here instead of just 10 of us," said Bryan.

The Oasis Senior Center is following all health orders, including wearing masks around others and physical distancing.