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Center for Modern Aging Princeton outlines expansion, recovery after flood
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Summary
Drew Dyson, CEO of the Center for Modern Aging Princeton, told the Mayor and Council the organization expanded multilingual programs, social services and digital literacy and is rebuilding after a January flood while planning larger renovations at 101 Poor Farm Road.
Drew Dyson, CEO of the Center for Modern Aging Princeton (CMAP), told the Mayor and Council that the nonprofit has expanded services while recovering from a January 26 burst fire‑suppression pipe that flooded part of the center.
"We exist to help older adults thrive," Dyson said, citing multilingual programs in Russian, Mandarin, Spanish, French and Hindi and outreach to more than 180 participants in language‑based groups. He said the center now employs four social workers, two community social workers, a licensed clinical social worker, a dementia specialist and several interns to deliver no‑cost social services.
Dyson gave several figures to illustrate scale: 649 Princeton residents are enrolled in the Crosstown transportation program, which delivered more than 6,500 rides last year; 380 residents received individualized social‑service support totaling more than 1,300 hours; and CMAP ran 17 seminars in the past six months with more than 475 participants on topics including Medicare changes and scam prevention.
He described the January facility flood as "our greatest challenge" but added that partnerships with the municipality and other organizations allowed programs to continue without interruption by relocating activities to Monument Hall, the Suzanne Patterson Building and partner sites.
CMAP acquired the adjacent building at 101 Poor Farm Road in early November, Dyson said, and has renovated the third floor; plans for summer and fall include renovating the first two floors and exterior spaces to add large indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, a commercial kitchen, expanded arts and tech labs and a performing arts room.
Council members praised CMAP's response and programming. Several council speakers highlighted the organization's work with older adults, intergenerational programs such as "Grama" that pair older residents with preschool and kindergarten students, and new volunteer initiatives like the Third Act Volunteer Corps.
Dyson framed the center's vision as expanding inclusion and digital access for older adults and said the recent acquisition and planned renovations will help the organization reach more residents and offer more on‑site technology education.
