MEET THE ARTISTS

Rochelle Manigault, 
Scheuer House Older Adult Center

Rochelle, 67, retired in 2017 after working for 45 years as a dental assistant and with the Department of Health. Since retiring, she has started attending culinary school at Kingsborough Community College.

“I’m doing pretty well. I want to get A’s!”

In addition to starting culinary school, Rochelle has also been attending JASA since her retirement. She discovered JASA while exercising at the YMCA and has been attending their classes for 5 years. Her favorite class is art, and she also enjoys teaching crochet.

“I went down to JASA and signed up, and I've been there ever since. I’ve been there for 5 years. I attended all of the virtual classes during the pandemic. The art class was my favorite. It was therapeutic and amazing at the same time."

Janis is originally from Guyana, where she spent the first 17 years of her life. She worked part-time at a youth service agency located on Jamal Street and also worked at Alexanders. Currently, she does clerical work.

Janis enjoys participating in the crochet class offered at JASA. It helps her to unwind and relax. She finds it a great way to plan for the next day, stay active, and think more.

Joyce was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. She spent her career working as an administrative manager for the commissioner. She learned about the JASA Brookdale Village Older Adult Center through word of mouth.

One of Joyce's favorite activities at the center is the crochet class. She has been crocheting since she was a little girl, learning from her mother. Joyce now teaches the crochet classes to other seniors at the center. She loves working with her hands and sharing her knowledge with others.

Joyce enjoys attending the JASA center because it provides opportunities to meet new people, attend parties, go on trips, play pool, and join Zumba classes.

Since Patricia was a teenager, she has been interested in fashion. She liked to sew her own clothes, which she did just for herself. Art runs in the family - her sister is an art teacher, and her mother also creates art pieces. Patricia joined JASA in 2012, after hearing about the art classes through the community.

Kumali was born in Guyana and relocated to the United States at five years old. She spent the latter part of her career working at a nonprofit organization that frequently collaborated with JASA in support of older adults who reside in the Greater Coney Island area. In retirement, she joined JASA's Coney Island Active Aging NORC, where she has been a member for more than nine years.