Live Well    Feel Well    Age Well

In 1908 St. Barnabas Senior Services opened its doors in Los Angeles, California. Over 100 years later, St. Barnabas is thriving as a dynamic nonsectarian, nonprofit organization that is widely recognized for its innovative programs. By pioneering programs that promote healthy aging, prolong independence, and enhance dignity for more than 8,000 seniors, SBSS has become a leader in the field of aging.

OUR MISSION

St. Barnabas Senior Center (SBSS) provides and promotes a continuum of innovative services that empower a diverse community of elders to live well, feel well, and age well.

OUR PEOPLE

SBSS serves one of the most multiethnic, low income, and densely populated areas in Los Angeles, which includes Chinatown, Koreatown, Filipinotown, and a major Hispanic population around the greater MacArtthur Park/Westlake area. Typically our participants are in their mid-70s, live alone, depend on Social Security of $800 monthly, have few friends or relatives to provide assistance, and speak minimal English. Nearly all of these older adults live at or below the Federal poverty level, and they lack the resources to meet their basic food, housing, and medical needs. Though seniors who come to SBSS have diverse, vibrant backgrounds, at SBSS they find a family in each other and in the caring staff that work with each day.

OUR PROGRAMS

At SBSS, we provide a continuum of care that promotes healthy aging, prolongs independence, and enhances the dignity of seniors. Operating from 11 locations in the downtown Los Angeles area, including out multipurpose center, adult day health care center, six congregate meal sites, and three housing complexes, we provide comprehensive nutrition, social, and medical services. As a model agency widely recognized for award-winning and innovative programs, SBSS continues to be a leader in health services of high integrity and value in Los Angeles. Learn more on our Programs and Services page .

OUR FAMILY

Our dedicated and compassionate staff and volunteers are the heart of SBSS. They mirror the culturally diverse population that we serve, with proficiency in over a dozen languages. They are compassionate people who are well prepared to meet any challenge that may arise and are truly the heart of SBSS. We are proud to say that nearly 30 percent have dedicated more than 10 years to SBSS, and many have received awards for their exceptional service to our community. Find out about opportunities to join our family, and meet our leadership team.

OUR IMPACT

SBSS believes that every one has the right to age with dignity. We are “home” to impoverished seniors – a place where they spend their end years in dignity and with people that care for them. The older adults that we serve have varying degrees of difficulty performing activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating, as well as management of money, taking correct dosages of medicine, or traveling via car or public transportation. As well, they are at a disadvantage with economic and cultural disparity. Our goal is very simple – to ensure that older adults in our community are not left alone to navigate their often confusing and potentially unsafe world as their ability to function diminishes. Our programs impact their ability to eat, stay in their residences, receive medical care, pay their bills, maintain human contact, get around the city, and to prolong their independence. With a longtime reputation as a center of excellence, SBSS is making a positive change in the lives of vulnerable seniors.

OUR COLLABORATION

SBSS has created valuable partnerships with over 40 peer and industry-aligned organizations in the public, private, and educational sectors to expand our services into the community, to reduce program costs, and to complement our programs with outside support. We collaborate with health care providers, senior housing facilities, social service agencies, universities, government agencies, and other peer and industry-aligned organizations. SBSS also has a long-time tradition of providing internships, directed research, and community service opportunities for students and faculty of several local universities in the fields of social work, and other aging service fields.

SBSS has also spearheaded an advocacy initiative, with SBSS President and CEO Rigo Saborio being one of the founders of the Los Angeles Aging Advocacy Coalition, a group of service providers and advocacy consumer groups whose goal is to strategically inform, educate and engage elected and appointed officials, as well as other key stakeholders, regarding the issues impacting the aging community in Los Angeles. Find out more about our advocacy efforts here.

OUR HISTORY

Founded in 1908 by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, SBSS has provided over 100 years of excellence and innovation. Over the last century, our presence expanded from a basement in a small church mission to an award-winning leader, whose models for healthy aging are recognized nationally and internationally.

OUR FUTURE

Fifty-three (53) employees provide a continuum of care, which includes case management, transportation and escort, congregate meals, home delivered meals, grocery shopping and delivery, in-home supportive services, money management, legal aid, power of attorney, recreational activities, geriatric medical and dental clinics, Alzheimer's day care, Adult Day Health Care (ADHC), and more to clients who range in age from 60 to over 100 years of age.