After nearly two years of hard work and tireless effort, Burke resident Corazon Foley has finally accomplished her goal to provide healthy living programs for the seniors in her community who have gone so long without them.

Foley, with the aid of local officials, has created the Burke/Springfield District Senior Center Without Walls, a roving network of local organizations that will provide ongoing wellness programs for seniors in the two districts. The network was launched July 1, with a pilot program at Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church kicking off the center’s activities to give local seniors a feel for what future programs will be like.

The idea, which is based on the Beacon Hill Model according to Evan Braff, supervisor of Fairfax County’s Office of Senior Services, is to reach out to different community-based organizations in the hope that they would provide facilities for wellness programs to be staged so that a central senior center is not needed. Those organizations include churches, schools and others that are able to provide open space and consistent availability.

"We’re trying to bring together community-based organizations to form a network that comes together to provide services to older adults in the Burke and Springfield areas," said Braff. "We’re trying to use the existing resources in the community and link them together."

Foley began her quest for a senior center in the area in late 2007, when she said she was driving an elderly friend to the Lorton Senior Center for a wellness program. While at the center, Foley was struck by the number of people attending the program that lived in the Burke and Springfield area. Aware that the area was lacking a senior center, Foley promptly contacted then-Springfield Supervisor Elaine McConnell (R).

"I noticed that a lot of the people in the wellness program [at the Lorton Senior Center] were from my area and also that the people were old and had difficulty driving," Foley said. "So I inquired about the possibility of having a senior center near where my friends are from."

Foley said when she approached McConnell, the supervisor was very receptive but told Foley that due to budget constraints, funds to build a new senior center was nonexistent. Instead, McConnell suggested that Foley pursue alternative options that would be more feasible economically. However, while Foley was researching alternatives, McConnell decided to retire and Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) took her place, putting Foley’s request in limbo.

Seeing that her project might be lost in the shuffle during the transitional period, Foley took her concerns straight to Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Sharon Bulova (D-At Large). Bulova was receptive to the issue, as she was the former supervisor of the Braddock District, making this an issue that is both literally and figuratively close to home. Bulova soon set up meetings with her staff and Foley and her supporters. At those meetings, the idea for the center "without walls" was spawned.

After the completion of the pilot program, which will run once a week for two hours through Aug. 19, Foley and Braff plan to have a "kick-off meeting" in September with Bulova, Herrity and Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock), where local seniors and other concerned citizens can come and pitch ideas for expanding the program.

"So much of the need is simply making these connections," said Cook, who reached out to his church, Burke United Methodist, to host some of the programs. "It’s a question of having the contacts and making the calls to urge someone to help out. It is nice to be able to help out with an innovative concept like this."

Following that meeting, Foley and Braff plan to start another eight-week wellness program in October and then have a continuous cycle of programs offered year-round for a nominal fee of $5 per program, which would go to pay for instructors. By that time, Foley said, she hopes to be setting an example for other localities that do not have centers so that all senior citizens can enjoy healthy and independent lives.

"By next year, we should have a full-fledged program with different programs each day, five days a week," Foley said. "It will be a model for other areas of Fairfax County."