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Seniors, With No Place To Gather, Stage Halloween Protest At IDS

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A group of seniors who lost their place to gather are using Halloween to draw attention to their plight.

The Skyway Senior Center closed it's doors in March of this year breaking up a group of seniors who had gathered there since 2001.

Barbara Nylen is one of dozens of Seniors who used the Skyway Senior Center daily.

"They closed in March so we don't have anyplace to gather," she said. "Minneapolis is one of the few major cities without any senior citizen center to go in and sit and connect with each other and just hang out."

MPLS Senior Center Protest
(credit: CBS)

Usually Halloween is a time they dress up and have a party, with no space for them to gather, they met inside the IDS Tower to draw attention to their needs.

The former senior space now sits empty. It was there 70 seniors a day would gather for coffee, to read the paper or take part in activities.

"I just miss the whole place," Mae Range said. "We did a lot of good, a lot of good."

The senior center had a $185,000 budget. Private funding and in-kind support from the City of Minneapolis made the space inside the same building as Target possible.

Center sponsors were unable to continue support, so it closed, shutting out seniors from the only place they had to go in Minneapolis.

The seniors hope they can scare up enough support to get another place to call home.

The Central Library and Westminster Church are working with the seniors to find space and a block of time for the group to meet.

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