Center For Healthy Aging (CHA) was founded by five senior residents of Santa Monica as a grass-roots effort in 1976 (then known as Senior Health & Peer Counseling). CHA initially responded to a need for accessible supportive care and services for older adults.

By 2006, CHA, a private non-profit agency was an established, nationally recognized model for helping people over 66 access supportive care and services through their focus on prevention of disease, education for a healthy lifestyle, and assistance with the special emotional concerns that aging brings. A unique setting of interdisciplinary care provided by professional staff and more than 150 volunteers, the center had shown impressive results while remaining cost effective. CHA provided more than 29,000 client contact services annually.

Center for Healthy Aging’s Peer Counseling Program became a model for volunteer effort, training older adults to counsel their peers. This innovative program was featured on “20/20,” “60 Minutes,” and in Parade Magazine, and serves as a model for organizations throughout the world. The Center was designated as the “31st Point of Light” in President George Bush’s Thousand Points of Light Program that recognizes institutions involved in community volunteer service.

WISE Senior Services was founded in 1968 by volunteers and community members to address the needs of the growing senior population in Los Angeles County. WISE initially stood for Westside Independent Services to the Elderly, but over time it came to stand for Well-being, Independence, Self-esteem and Education. A multi-service, private, not-for-profit organization, WISE was dedicated to enriching the lives and promoting the well-being of senior citizens within the Los Angeles area. As part of this, through the years WISE Senior Services particularly devoted its attention and resources to serving low-income seniors.

In 1972, WISE Senior Services was instrumental in establishing the first senior center in Santa Monica. In the 1980’s, WISE Senior Services began its involvement with the Long-Term Ombudsman Program, which still operates today and has become nationally recognized. The program advocates for the more than 100,000 beds in long-term facilities in the City and County of Los Angeles, has been replicated throughout the United States and was recently expanded to include San Bernardino County.

In 2002, WISE Senior Services opened a new state-of-the-art building for its adult day care program that was designed specifically to meet the needs of frail and elderly and which nearly doubled service capacity. Also in 2002, WISE Senior Services was named “Agency of the Year” by the City of Los Angeles in recognition of the innovation and creativity of its programs. By 2006, WISE Senior Services was serving 35,000 clients annually, with the help for more than 800 volunteers, making it one of the largest senior volunteer efforts in the country.