The idea of a senior center can feel stuffy and old. It brings to mind bingo and bridge.

It shouldn’t.

A senior center can be like “Cheers,” the place where everyone knows your name. That’s a good thing in so many ways.

Sure, it’s comforting. It feels like home — and that’s something that shouldn’t be undervalued.

We all need to have relationships. For some seniors, their family members might have moved away. Friends have died. Health and mobility issues can make it harder to go places and do things. Senior centers can help maintain networks and keep routines. Whether with the guys in the chess club or the ladies on the bus trip to do some shopping, these can be the new social hub as people age.

That’s good for the body. Some activities keep them literally active, with things such as exercise classes or pickle­ball.

Others are good for the mind. Senior centers can offer classes, book clubs, even karaoke.

But most importantly, they create community.

When people show up at senior centers regularly, they become fixtures. They are expected. They are anticipated — by their friends and by the staff. And when they do not show up, they can be missed.

Without family, without co-workers, without other interactions, a senior center can step into a void. It can be a safety net, heading off something as simple as loneliness and noticing when something more serious has occurred.

This isn’t just about companionship. Connections like these can be lifesaving. Isolation can be physically and mentally detrimental. A senior center might not be a cure, but it can be treatment.

And let’s not forget food. Just like school lunch can be the one dependable meal for a hungry student, lunch at a senior center can be a nutritious plate for someone who can’t fill the fridge or struggles to cook.

All together, it makes funding senior centers a way to bridge so many gaps. But statewide, 13 centers in eight counties have closed in the last year, with almost twice as many at risk. County Area Agencies on Aging are being forced to cut important outreach programs for meals and medicine — or are putting more people on waitlists. Centers without the budget to do the work are turning to fundraising and grants.

Government funding isn’t limitless. Hard, unfortunate choices have to be made. But sometimes spending a small amount of money can head off higher costs — in dollars and in lives.

Do senior centers provide bingo, lunch and cards? Yes, but that’s just a small part of the overall role they play. They keep tabs. They provide community. They build vitality.

And with a Pennsylvania population getting older every day, that is not a luxury. It is a basic need.

— Pittsburgh Tribune-Review