(WXYZ) — Whatever picture you have in your mind of senior living, it may be time to revise it.
"We want things to be full of life. We want to empower the residents to thrive," said Erin Griffiths, Life Enrichment Director at StoryPoint Saline.
StoryPoint Saline is a retirement and assisted living facility, and they’re aiming to show the world there’s liveliness in senior living.
"We do kind of pride ourselves on out-of-the-box, kind of wonky, weird programming in a way," said Griffiths.
So when Erin promised a snow-filled day of fun in January, she was disappointed because, well, there was no snow at the time.
"It kind of derailed everything," she laughed.
Until Erin and her team figured out an indoor solution thanks to some brain power, snow tubes and scooters. Yes, indoor tubing — for seniors.
"When they first brought the tube over, I said, 'you know, if I get down there, I'm not going to be able to get up,'" said Tom Tucker, a resident at StoryPoint.
But everyone did indeed get back up and the video of the indoor shenanigans went viral on social media, with nearly 10 million views and counting on Facebook alone.
"I've had people I haven't talked to in ages on my Facebook say, 'hey, we saw you and this was wonderful,'" said Marilyn Tucker, a resident at StoryPoint.
It’s that kind of fun that Erin says helps people realize their perception of senior living might be wrong.
"Now it's cool to have this platform to show what senior living is really about, and all the opportunities and residents thriving and having fun. And that's what it is," said Erin.
The residents say the staff is eager to collaborate with them on planning activities and is always coming up with something new.
"Very often we'll go to an event and not know for sure what's going to happen. And we're always tickled when we get there," said Tom.
