BILLINGS — Cards are dealt. Meals are shared. Laughter echoes through the room.
For a few hours every Tuesday and Thursday, a basement at King of Glory Church becomes something more a place of community for seniors on Billings’ far West End.
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“They just love it here,” said Marilyn Campbell. “They just want to get out of their four walls at home.”
Those weekly gatherings offer connection, but Campbell says they’re not enough.
“All of these people down here have become our family,” she said. “They would love us to be going five days a week, but we do not have a building.”
Campbell is the president of Billings Senior Citizens Inc., and she’s on a mission to change that. She says the city’s growing West End is home to a large and expanding senior population, but no dedicated senior center.
“It’s so important. It’s my last wish,” Campbell said. “I have to get it accomplished.”
She envisions a permanent space with a kitchen, ample parking and transportation options. A place seniors can rely on every day, not just a couple times a week.
“The West End is definitely in need of more support for seniors,” Campbell said.
Advocates say the need goes beyond socializing.
“Social isolation is the ultimate thing for older adults,” said Tyler Amundsen with Allies on Aging. “The more we can keep folks connected, the better off folks will be.”
Yellowstone County has about 11 senior centers, but none are located on the far West End, where many older adults now live.
Senior centers also have a long history in Billings. In 2018, Billings Senior Citizens Inc. proposed leasing and operating the downtown Community Center. The Billings City Council ultimately encouraged collaboration instead, urging groups to work together rather than compete.
For Campbell, the push is personal and urgent.
“We need one out here because the population is so heavy out here,” she said.
Raising the money won’t be easy, but Campbell says the goal is worth it.
“I just want to facilitate it and get it going and have it going forever,” she said. “Because we need it on the West End.”
Until then, every hand of cards and burst of laughter at King of Glory Church carries extra meaning— a reminder of what connection looks like, and what’s still missing.
“Creating multiple different ways for them to do that is important to us,” Amundsen said.
