YFS Foundation awards grant to support Mercer Island seniors

Mercer Island offers an array of critical senior services programs, including the Stay Active & Independent for Life (SAIL) falls prevention classes, Living Alone, Caregiver Support and Death Café along with the essential Seniors Rising newsletter.

To provide major funding support to sustain two of the key initiatives — SAIL and Seniors Rising — and also aid the aforementioned senior support groups, the Mercer Island Youth & Family Services Foundation announced on Dec. 16 that it will award an additional $30,000 grant to the city’s Youth & Family Services (YFS) department in January.

“This supplemental grant is in addition to the foundation’s annual contracted fundraising support and a November 2025 grant designated for emergency assistance resources,” reads a press release regarding the one-time grant.

YFS Administrator Derek Franklin said the programs and resources promote independence, connection and well-being for seniors. YFS staff learned of the need for these services from senior focus groups, at stakeholder meetings and through the 2024 community needs assessment and expanded its services in 2025.

“Until now, these programs have been supported through short-term cost savings within the YFS budget and are considered unfunded for long-term sustainability,” the press release said.

YFS Programs Coordinator Marina Gonzales said they’ve received plenty of positive responses from program attendees and constructive feedback about what they’d like to see happening within the city’s senior offerings in the new year.

On the SAIL front, the successful one-hour fitness class that has a maximum of 15 participants per session ages 65 and up will switch its starting times to 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays beginning Jan. 5 at the Mercer Island Community & Event Center.

YFS senior services specialist Marjorie Carlson was passionate about bringing the evidence-based fitness program — developed by the Washington State Department of Health — to the Island, according to a previous Reporter article.

Speaking of Carlson, she and Islander Carin Mack — a retired social worker and senior specialist — co-facilitate the Living Alone program that stemmed from the community needs assessment survey.

The group meets from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month at the community center and delves into such topics as safety (with presentations by the Mercer Island Police Department and the city’s emergency preparedness staff), social and volunteer opportunities, isolation and the emotional impact of living alone, and health promotion and injury prevention.

“There’s a lot of feedback from seniors, specifically seniors who were trying to age in the home or were living alone but in assisted living communities, wanting to find connection with people who are in similar situations,” Gonzales said.

For social and volunteer opportunities, seniors can connect with the YFS foundation and Hopelink to give back to the community, and there’s a coffee hour at the community center along with card games and more to meet up with others.

YFS’s Seniors Rising newsletter — which is published digitally monthly and a larger edition is mailed out quarterly — features articles, information, community partner spotlight, and a list of events for the upcoming month. People can sign up for the newsletter and archive copies can be found on the city’s website at https://www.mercerisland.gov/yfs/page/seniors-rising-newsletter.

Other senior programs offered by the city are: People’s Memorial Association Ducks in a Row presentation series on end-of-life planning; tech support that is run by the Mercer Island Library, Mercer Island High School coding club and YFS; Open Art Studio focused on the learning and enjoyment of watercolor painting; and the OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute/University of Washington monthly lecture series.

For more information, visit: https://www.mercerisland.gov/yfs/page/senior-services and www.mercerisland.gov/yfs.