Ulster County Community Center Putting New Wellness Center To Use
The stairs up to the Wellness Empowerment Center at People’s Place in Kingston, New York is an oasis located at the top of the building, sequestered from the hustle and bustle of the roundabout below it. It is the pathway to a room full of support, respect, smiles and a drive to reach goals.
Ascending the steps brings patrons into a large room with a few chairs off to the side, a window sill lined with Acqua Panna, and a shelving unit with brand new equipment; exercise bands, foam rollers and towels. At the front of the room is a table with stacks of canned beans. Those will be the weights for the people participating in the fitness class.
There are nine people attending the class today. It is Fitness Fun for Everyone! with instructor Mary Tuma. A combination of dance and light weight resistance training to get everyone feeling upbeat to carry through the rest of their week. Tuma has been a fitness instructor for over thirty years, and donates her time to the Wellness Empowerment Center every Wednesday.
“She is in her seventies and has had two knee replacements in the last six months,” Fatima Deen said. Deen is one of the supervisors at People’s Place. “But she [Tuma] is the best. We love her.”
Currently located right on Broadway, People’s Place opened in 1972 as a location for children with educational disabilities by the Mount St. Alphonsus Redemptorist Priests and Brothers. It served underprivileged families in the Kingston area and helped them gain access to items like clothing and food. In 1977, People’s Place opened a separate food pantry to help more families in need. It has grown to be the largest food pantry in all of Ulster County, an area where 14% percent of the population lives at or below the poverty level.
The Brothers eventually moved to Washington D.C, leaving People’s Place to volunteers. They moved to their location on the corner of St. James and Broadway in 2006, and bought the property in 2015. People’s Place operates as a food pantry, thrift store, community cafè and a wellness center for all of Ulster County.
Today, People’s Place has over 80 people who volunteer their time to serve their community at the largest food bank in the area. Tuma is one of them, who also works with the Ulster County Italian American Foundation.
She starts the class with some stretches and then goes into zumba, playing songs by Brook Benton, The Village People and Eddie Rabbitt through the speakers.
“I like doing this [teaching the class], because I get to play the music that I like to listen to!” Tuma says with a smile and an infectious chuckle.
The Wellness Empowerment Center opened in July of 2021. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for all of the community to attend. Tuma tells her clients “just wait until the new bands come in. Wait till you see what we’ve got for you,” while they exercise. Each person catches Tuma’s transferable excitement, even through a mask.
“We have usually eight to ten people who show up for this class,” Deen says.
Tuma walks them through each exercise, showing them the right form and encouraging them to work only within their limits. She shares stories about her lifestyle and the crowd can’t believe that she works out every morning for an hour and can still come in and instruct their class. They laugh at the joke she shares about how Tuma’s husband told her for her birthday he was going to get her Nootropics.
The cool down begins. The music slows, and Tuma walks through some stretches, and finishes with some announcements about a food drive that will be going on for Thanksgiving through the People’s Place. Deen reminds them to take some cans of beans if they would like, because they offer a recipe for a rice and beans dish.
As patrons walk out of the large room, they can take things like toiletries and drink mix. One person asks if they still have any more apple cider mix available from last week. Some check the schedule to see what other events will be going on for the week. Each day of the week centers around a different wellness theme, ranging from food, to fitness, to financial assistance.
The members of the class descend the stairs, open the door from the sanctuary, talking to one another as they cross the threshold back into the real world. They will be back next week for Tuma’s class, and whatever else People’s Place can offer them.
