Residents at Seneca Manor offer advice to the Penn Hills class of 2020

When a handful of elderly residents living at a Penn Hills assisted living facility heard about local high school seniors’ troubles brought on by covid-19, they decided to offer some encouragement through the lens of decades of experience.

“I think it’s making them realize that life is hard right now but everything is gonna get better,” said Deanne Thomas, activities coordinator at Seneca Manor in Penn Hills.

Thomas said her residents felt bad when some of the facility’s servers, some of which are Penn Hills High School seniors, told them about how their last year in high school changed when the pandemic hit.

“One resident said, ‘I feel as bad for them as I do for us,’” Thomas said.

Schools in Pennsylvania stopped in-person instruction in March. Some schools either delayed or canceled end-of-year senior activities such as prom and graduation.

Caitlyn Simmons, 18, of Penn Hills graduated from high school this year. She said the school, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, postponed its graduation ceremony until July 17. And the junior-senior prom was also postponed until July 9, but with a restriction — only seniors are permitted to come.

She said learning that March 13 was the last day she and her classmates would ever walk her alma mater’s halls was upsetting.

Simmons works as a server at Seneca Manor. Under the pandemic restrictions, her work responsibilities shifted. Instead of serving guests meals in the dining room, she now delivers them. It’s actually a change she prefers.

“It just gives you an outlook on their lives, how they decorate their home, just seeing them in their personal space,” she said. Simmons said she has always felt comfortable talking with elderly people — more so than her peers, she said.

So over the days, she shared with residents about her life and how it had changed over the last couple months.

When she saw how the residents responded — with their words of wisdom the facility dubbed “Senior to Senior” — she was thrilled.

“I loved it. I love the people who up there as it is. But to see them giving words of encouragement, it felt really good. They know what it’s like to lose out on things,” Simmons said. “Most of them can’t cook and clean for themselves, even getting dressed in the morning — so they know what it’s like to lose out on things.”

Thomas was glad to put the project together, which entailed residents writing messages on poster boards and posting photos of them holding them up on social media. In all, 10 residents participated.

Some of the messages included “Don’t wait for the perfect time, do it now!!!” and “Look for opportunities that come with adversity, take advantage of that!!!”

“Just because they’re in a wheelchair doesn’t mean they don’t still have their minds,” Thomas said.