SHELBURNE FALLS — New Senior Center Director Julianne “Juli” Moreno has been handing out to-go meals and getting to know those who frequent the center, but she’s no stranger to the area.
Moreno, 59, started this week after serving as director of adult services for about three years at The United Arc. She has replaced former Director Amanda Joao, who earned her master’s degree and took a job elsewhere.
After graduating from Greenfield High School, the Greenfield native attended Texas Women’s University, where she received a degree in expressive therapy. She then worked in a prison in Houston before returning to Franklin County.
After a few years working at the Center for Human Development, she went back to school through the University of Phoenix and received her master’s degree in organizational management, choosing that route because she “wanted to affect policy in a bigger way.”
Moreno, who is married with a 26-year-old son, said she has a close family. Her passion for improving elder care started with caring for her mother, allowing her to remain in her home through illness and her death.
Moreno’s interest grew after returning to Massachusetts and running a day program in Holyoke. When that contract was ending, she started working for Hawthorne Services, where Director James Callahan, she said, “inspired me.”
“We did a project with UMass called ‘LIFE,’ working to teach mailmen, police — the gatekeepers of elders — what to look out for and we worked on a presentation about suicide, as statistics are high for men over 70 committing suicide,” Moreno said.
Her commitment solidified working with the Center for Human Development.
“Families would come off the street and ask me questions,” she said. “It was amazing to me that people didn’t know the resources available. Sometimes I couldn’t help them, but I always knew where to send them.”
Over time, Moreno said she has gained “immense respect” for elders.
“Here they are, near the twilight of life, and why are things made harder for them?” she said.
When she saw the opening at the Senior Center, Moreno said she “felt inside me ‘it’s my niche.’ I just so believe in making life better for elders. They laid the groundwork for this whole world.”
Moreno has attended several Town Hall discussions about the future of the center, where discussion continues about forming a West County Senior Services District among Shelburne, Buckland and Ashfield.
“I understand the concept,” she noted. “If we remain a consortium or there’s a district, you can get more resources. I’m all about the resources.”
Moreno is keen to expand public perception of what a senior center can be.
“How can we partner with people and connect more, and who can we do that with? The other piece is marketing — trying to open people’s perception of what a senior center could be because it is the community’s, after all.”
One area of interest for Moreno is cyber justice. She noted that during the pandemic, a “lack of support through existing technology” has been highlighted.
“If a senior doesn’t have a cellphone, for instance, he or she misses out on some things,” she said, adding that the center has been lucky to have donations of time, equipment, service and instruction to help remedy that situation.
“It’s a big thing to teach people how technology can enhance their lives,” Moreno continued, mentioning a Zoom session with a representative at the Joshua Tree National Park in Palm Desert that attendees found fascinating.
For Moreno, “making those connections and seeing new things” is important. She’s also interested in folks seeing that the Senior Center is theirs and “getting more people involved in building programming.”
As to the physical home of the center, still under debate, “it would be nice to have a better nest,” Moreno said.
The current home at the Masonic building on Main Street, with use now of just one floor (more has been offered), is a tight squeeze given the burgeoning senior population of Ashfield, Buckland and Shelburne.
“You stop paying attention to certain things because you just work with it, but it’s the nest,” Moreno said of the center. “It’s a place where you should feel safe and comfortable with the other people involved. And it needs to have all involvement of all seniors.”
She recently learned there are more than 700 people in Ashfield alone who are over the age of 60.
“What are we doing to capture those people? That’s the direction to go in,” she said.
Moreno hopes to stay at the center until she retires.
“This really felt like a gift, a position I’ve earned,” she said. “It’s taking (into account) everything I’ve learned and that I’m good at.”
She added that she’s “trying to be patient” with herself as she learns about the Senior Center’s operations and its members.
“You can’t really affect change without creating relationships and partnerships,” she said, “so I’ve got to start there, and then I hope to get out of the gate and make a difference.”