More seniors chilling out in cooling centers

The sweltering summer heat is sending significantly more seniors into cooling centers in our valley.

Seniors are breaking a sweat and getting their workout on at the Joslyn Center, but they aren’t sweating nearly as much as people walking around outside in triple digit temperatures.

Jean Bull is a valley resident who takes advantage of the classes that the Joslyn Center has to offer every week.

“We go on Tuesday and Thursday and we do the “Fit After 50″ class. It’s a good class. Everybody comes, we get to know each other, and it’s like old times,” said Bull.

Mary Phillips, the aerobics instructor at the center, focuses on activities that the seniors can do indoors to help keep them in shape.

“They can’t exercise outside they can come here and exercise where it’s cool, we have Wii bowling here, so they still get the fitness,” said Phillips.

Daniel Coover, Program Director at the Joslyn Center even says they have seen an increase in the amount of people coming in to use their cooling center as the summer heat rises.

“Numbers have increased coming through the door. People sign in to get a free water bottle, they sign in for the cooling center, and we have noticed by about a third, in June and July we were at 105 to 120 [people]. So far we are on target to be at 225 people using the cooling center,” said Coover.

It’s not just about having some fun. Seniors, most of whom are on a fixed income, are also able to save some cash during their visits.

“There has been an increase in people turning off their air conditioners at home and saving some money on their electric bill . That’s why we are here,” said Coover.

The Joslyn Center is open every weekday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Here’s a full list of cooling centers in the Coachella Valley.