The Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy  (VSHSL) is pleased to award 39 senior centers through the Support Senior Centers funding opportunity. This investment provides support to senior centers across King County and in each district of the region to establish the King County Senior Center Network.  

Washington’s population is aging, including here in King County. Senior centers provide essential programs, services, and social engagement opportunities that allow older adults to age with full and equal access to options for happy and healthy living. Strong, coordinated service systems that can support the unique needs of seniors and their caregivers are important. 

At senior centers, older adults access resource navigation, food and nutrition services, health promotion programs, wellness checks, cultural and social activities, and opportunities for social engagement. During the Covid-19 pandemic, senior centers proved essential as a community-based source of information and vital resources. 

The prior VSHSL (2018-2023) added services for seniors to the levy’s service population for the first time, filling a funding gap and helping to stabilize operations and transform senior centers into hubs that expanded services, outreach, and engagement to isolated and racially and culturally diverse seniors. From 2021-2023 VSHSL-funded senior centers served more than 67,500 seniors, including reaching over 19,000 seniors who were new to senior center services in each of 2022 and 2023.  

Through the current Support Senior Centers investment, senior centers can continue to be inclusive, vibrant spaces, some working in partnership as Senior Hubs and all leveraging resources as members of the King County Senior Center Network. 

King County Senior Center Network 

The King County Senior Center Network is a connected network of VSHSL-funded senior centers which includes all VSHSL-funded senior centers. The King County Senior Center Network continues to build on the Senior Hub model by prioritizing partnerships and allowing flexibility for individual senior centers to best meet the needs of their communities. Several Senior Hubs from the last levy will continue, while other senior centers are building new partnerships or are funded as individual centers supported as resource hubs that address evolving community need. The King County Senior Center Network ensures access to vital services for older adults, addresses barriers like language, transportation, and discrimination, and strengthens King County’s ability to provide the diversity of seniors in King County opportunities to be socially engaged. The Network achieves these purposes through collaborations, partnerships, leveraging of funds, opportunities for trainings sponsored by DCHS, and facilitated connections to other King County services.  

Support Senior Centers awardees! 

The VSHSL is pleased to award the below organizations through the Support Senior Centers investment. We are looking forward to continuing our successful partnerships with senior centers and building new relationships to best serve King County’s diverse seniors.