CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Before Thursday’s regular session City Council meeting, a protest was held to oppose the city’s plans to reopen their version of the Ajax Turner Senior Center, as well as the recent firing of the senior center’s executive director, Rita Allsop.
After the meeting, Clarksville Now spoke with another resident whose mother had been attending the Senior Circle of Friends Adult Day Center before its closure, and he spoke on the impact it’s already having on her day-to-day life.
Steve Licata said that similar to a source in an earlier Clarksville Now report, he too was blindsided by the Senior Citizen Board’s decision to fire Allsop, which led to the closure of the adult daycare center. “As a resident, we were shocked when we got the phone call that we weren’t able to send my mother to the adult daycare,” he said.
Licata said his mom is 78 and has been diagnosed with mid- to late-stage dementia. “My mom relies on social interaction with other people,” he said. “To hear that the executive director was fired without a good cause – why was she fired?
“Why did the board make that decision; who’s the replacement? That’s all the stuff that we haven’t even found out about. And there’s no other adult daycare in Clarksville, unless you want to pay for a facility that’s tens of thousands of dollars that frankly we don’t have,” Licata said.
In a statement sent to Clarksville Now, Director of Clarksville Parks & Recreation Jennifer Letourneau said they are currently hiring staff for the Adult Day Center, “which Jessica Catlett, the former licensed caregiver, will oversee. We are in the process of hiring support staff as well, and our plan is to be up and operational as soon as possible after the building is turned back over to us.”
She said Mayor Joe Pitts, in addition to Catlett, has been in touch with each family served by the Adult Day Center, to convey the message that the city is bringing it back.
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‘We had to tell her, ‘Sorry mom, you can’t go to daycare today”
Licata said he hasn’t heard from the City of Clarksville yet, and he has concerns about what that means for his mother in the meantime.
Licata said he struggled to explain the situation to his mother. “My mom was two steps out the door, ready to go,” he said. “And we had to tell her, ‘Sorry mom, you can’t go to daycare today; you can’t go see your friends today.’
“We had to make an excuse to keep her calm for her to understand. There are some days that she thinks she works there, because they make interactions that help others.”
Licata said his mother’s interactions have been closed off, quiet and sad recently as she continues to wonder if she can go in to “work” and see her friends. “And no one has reached out to us; no one has come forward to say when it’s going to reopen or how it’s going to reopen.
“I’ve looked out of state, I’ve looked in the state. If I want to drive her down to Nashville, I could probably find one. But that’s over an hour drive for her to go down for a few hours and come back home. She doesn’t get the full days’ worth, or the full experience to make it worthwhile.”
‘This was abrupt and poorly planned, and you are scrambling to make it right’
He said when they moved to Clarksville years ago, they didn’t know anybody, and his mother was diagnosed with dementia a year after they arrived.
“People don’t understand that memory care individuals – and I’m learning this as I go – they are there, but they aren’t there,” he said. “They can understand depending on what progression they are at, but then they slip away. Soon, they’ll slip away even more.”
Licata said the changes to the Senior Center should have been rolled out more carefully to ensure there was no lapse in operations.
“We’re not the only (family) out there. There are at least 30 attendees of the memory care daycare that are now not going to socialize with the friends they made at that place.”
Senior Center volunteer speaks in favor of city’s plan
During City Council public comments, Mary Pagano, who is a member and volunteer at the Ajax Turner Senior Center, expressed her gratitude to the city for taking over operations.
“For many of us, this center is much more than a building. It is a place of friendship, fellowship, learning, recreation and support,” she said. “It’s where seniors come together to stay active, connected and engaged in our community. Mayor Pitts, your willingness to take responsibility for the future of this center demonstrates your commitment to the well-being of our senior citizens. Your leadership gives us confidence that this important resource will continue to serve current and future generations of seniors.
“We recognize that decisions like this require vision, dedication and hard work. We deeply appreciate your efforts and recognition of the valuable contributions that senior citizens make to our community,” Pagano said.
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