Header image: Everett High School ROTC // Courtesy of VOA/Carl Gipson Center

Let's pause and imagine a place together - a place in Everett where all are welcome. A place where skylights illuminate an open space, cozy reading corners coexist with table tennis, and connections can be made through discussion groups with peers and happy birthday phone calls from staff members. 

The good news is that we don't have to imagine it! It's our very own Carl Gipson Center, now managed by Volunteers of America (VOA). 

The Carl Gipson Center (named in honor of Everett's first Black elected official, Carl Gipson) has served seniors for over 40 years. In 2020, the City started looking for non-profits to take over. Last summer, the City Council unanimously signed a 14-year contract with VOA, which was given the keys in September 2021. 

Now fully open and engaging with the community, the Carl Gipson Center is ready to expand. With support from the City, VOA, volunteers, and community partners, Director Cory Armstrong-Hoss and his amazing team (Gul, Lucia, and Cora) are creating a place where all members of the community can feel at home. Their goal is to preserve traditional morning and early afternoon hours for seniors and to add new activities for the rest of the community starting mid-afternoon until closing. 

And some of that expansion work has already started! In mid-August, the Carl Gipson Center partnered with VOA's Meaningful Day program. Individuals with disabilities are invited every Wednesday to participate in activities while having lunch with seniors (lunch is provided daily by Homage and is free for low-income seniors, and $8 for everyone else). 

The Center also has clogging, yoga, craft groups, speakers every Wednesday during lunch (including the Mayor once a quarter), events, support groups, trips, and even personal services.

So what's on the horizon for the center? Lots! Some activities in development include: 

• An afterschool program! The Carl Gipson Center team believes that there is incredible value in people of different ages interacting and building connections with one another. Plus, the fact that many senior members are retired educators and our community's need for youth to have a safe place to go after school makes this a perfect fit.

• More supports for our refugee and immigrant neighbors! There's hope the center will host ESL classes a few days a week.

• A health clinic! The goal is to ensure people can access both physical and mental health and dental services at free or low-cost. The Carl Gipson team recognizes that seniors are often marginalized and isolated, leading to increased rates of depression, loneliness, and other health issues. To combat this, a medical clinic, including dental care, a primary physician, and counseling space, is being developed.

And that's not all! More events are in the works, including a Veterans Stand Down in September (where veterans can access services) and a Wintertide celebration on December 3rd and 4th, where community members of all ages can get in the holiday spirit! There's even planning for entertainment, such as Elvis impersonators and bingo night hosted by local improv artists to make it even more epic.

Additionally, now that VOA is running the center, if an Everett senior needs help with something that is not recreational or health-related, staff can more easily connect people to those services. The mission is that if the staff and volunteers at the center can't support someone's needs, they can find someone who can through VOA or their partners. 

As Cory put it, "It's a cool new chapter. We have an awesome team ... and revitalizing a place closed for about 22 months because of both budget and pandemic … just an awesome opportunity."

This "awesome opportunity" is for the long-term as well. When VOA took over, the City agreed to subsidize the Center for seven years, giving the team time to develop funding streams for a sustainable future. They are already putting energy into figuring out how to get people walking through those doors and staying engaged. 

Carl Gipson Center is still a place for seniors and, with VOA's help, is becoming more of a central hub for the whole community. It's important we all feel seen and acknowledged, and often seniors don't receive that due to isolation and other factors. By expanding services, access, and engagement, the Center wants to change that so all of Everett's residents feel valued as part of the community. 

Carl Gipson Center has a very small staff team who depends on partnerships, volunteers, and donors to accomplish all the wonderful things they do for Everett. Reach out if you have a skill you'd like to share with the community (they are currently looking for a ceramic teacher!) or to learn more about the fun events or classes. You can learn about individual senior members in the Gipson Gazette. The center has space available for rent.  Use these links to become a member or to donate. 

See you at bingo! 

Carl Gipson Center
3025 Lombard Ave
Everett, WA 98201

Learn more about Carl Gipson.

Angela Di Filippo currently works in State Social Services and recently earned her Masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with extensive training in evidence-based leadership coaching. Angela moved from North Carolina to Washington 6 years ago and has proudly called Everett her home for 5 of those years. When not helping others solve problems in creative and strength-driven ways, Angela enjoys her time painting, hiking with her terrier-mix, Indy, and eating waffles.