The Weekly Newspaper of Torrance Herald Publications - Torrance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 5, No. 3 - January 15, 2015 Inside This Issue Business Briefs....................2 Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................6 Classifieds............................7 Crossword/Sudoku.............7 Police Reports.....................3 Politically Speaking............3 Real Estate...........................8 Sports....................................4 TerriAnn in Torrance..........2 Weekend Forecast Tartars #23 Jordan Sakasegawa maneuvers through the Culver City defense last Saturday. Photo by Peter Thornton, jp.thornton58@gmail.com. For more photos see page 4. Friday Mostly Sunny 68˚/52˚ Saturday Sunny 70˚/53˚ Sunday Sunny 70˚/54˚ High School Basketball Season Begins with Determination South Bay Village, OTNA to Host Information Session at Bartlett Center By Cristian Vasquez “It Takes a Village to Age in Place” is the name for the information presentation by South Bay Village that will be hosted at the Bartlett Center, located at 1318 Cravens Ave., on Jan. 21 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. The Old Torrance Neighborhood Association [OTNA] has invited the South Bay Village, part of the National Village Program, to answer that question and to present resources seniors need to age comfortably in their own home and continue to lead active lives “The South Bay Village is something new coming to Torrance and it will make its debut at the Old Torrance Neighborhood Association,” Debby Hays with OTNA said. “Torrance has a fast-growing population of seniors and Torrance is known for taking care of its seniors so we want to get the word out as to how they can stay in their homes for as long as possible,” As the population in Torrance ages, many seniors face the challenge of staying home as long as possible instead of relocating to an assisted living facility for seniors. The presentation hopes to draw volunteers and inform seniors and people with senior-age parents about what South Bay Village provides and how residents can benefit from those resources. “AARP put out a report that ninety percent of seniors want to live in their own homes as they age. Up until now they only asked about staying in your own home and once you couldn’t drive it was recommended to ask a neighbor or family member,” South Bay Village CEO Ges Davis said. “That doesn’t always work so South Bay Village takes you to your doctor’s appointment, they take you to the senior center to play cards and get you out of the house. The statistics have proven that if you get out of the house you will live longer and healthier.” South Bay Village was established in 2013 and it is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to providing as wide range of resources to aging seniors. Davis’ experience with seniors goes back several years and has been based in the City of Torrance. “I worked as a manager at RSVP [Retired Senior Volunteer Program], and had close to 1,000 senior volunteers,” Davis said. “After seven years it became evident to me that this was my calling and I wanted to do something more for seniors than just the volunteer aspect. So I kept telling the people that I worked with that we had to do more for people who can’t get out and about. That is how South Bay Village was born.” There are 140 villages across America and throughout Europe. In addition, there are 125 more in villages in the process of being established much like the Torrance location. “Every presentation that I do is receiving more and more attention,” Davis said. “The reason the response is growing is because there are so many seniors that as they get older are going to need some help.” South Bay Village is a nonprofit and is set to open its doors in March of this year. Davis indicated that 10,000 people are turning 65 every day, emphasizing the need for services like the ones provided by South Bay Village. “We felt it is a timely topic so we want to help spread the word and make people aware of the resources that are available right here in our own backyard,” Hays said. “We are thrilled to have a resource like South Bay Village available to Torrance residents and we are looking forward to partnering with them.” In addition to the presentation at the Bartlett Center, there will be one at the Torrance-South Bay YMCA located at 2900 W. Sepulveda Blvd. in Torrance on Jan. 27 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. which is expected to be a different group of people since the presentation will be during the day. For the Bartlett Center presentation refreshments will be served beginning at 7 p.m. All OTNA meetings are free of charge and open to the public. All who live, work and play in Torrance are welcome and are encouraged to attend early. “We hope we get a good turnout for this because the resources are something that everyone needs to now about, regardless,” Hays said. “If you’re not a senior you probably have a parent that is; I know that I do so I will be all ears at this meeting.” OTNA was founded in 1981 and is celebrating its 34th anniversary this year. Meetings are hosted on the third Wednesday of every other month beginning in January, and are free and open to the public. OTNA boundaries are Crenshaw to Western and Dominguez to Sepulveda. For additional information, please contact Debbie Hays at 310.320.6054. •
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