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A group of seniors, all wearing matching T-shirts and headbands with fuzzy yellow pom-poms, walked down the Schuylkill River Trail with determination and purpose.

Other walkers, bikers and runners sped by on the trail during a recent Friday morning, but members of the Hunting Park We Walk PHL group were undeterred. Most of them are in their 60s, 70s or 80s.

“We let them know, we’re not sitting home in a rocking chair,” said Brenda Smith, 68, who lives in Germantown.

The walking group is part of a free citywide program that coordinates meetups for people who want to exercise and improve their health. It’s also an opportunity for older residents to meet new people and create new support systems as they age.

“Some people don’t have anybody to talk to at all. They don’t even have family,” said Margie Witts, 70, who lives in Hunting Park. “You get to become a family.”

The group joined more than 500 older city residents at Lloyd Hall on Boathouse Row on Friday to participate in the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging’s 13th annual Senior Strut health event, which featured presentations, exhibits and music from the Philadelphia Mummers.

“Social isolation is unfortunately an issue that impacts the older adult community in Philadelphia and across the country,” said Bill Conallen, public relations specialist at the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging. “Events like this bring people together, allow them for opportunities for socialization and really build community and connection that they might not typically have.”

With their yellow pomp-poms bouncing on their heads with every step, the Hunting Park walkers were easily spotted in the crowd.

“If we see people walking, we tell them to come join us,” Smith said. “A lot of times when we’re exercising and people are standing back looking, we’ll encourage them to come on and be a part of it.”

Finding support and friendship through exercise

Walking has many benefits for older adults, research shows. It can reduce the risks or severity of heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline and dementia. It’s also associated with better mental health and sleep.

The Hunting Park walkers regularly meet about three times a week and spend about an hour together outside in their neighborhood.

“We have a slow, medium and we have a fast group, so everybody walks at a different speed, but we all finish in 45 minutes and then we do a cool down and we’re done,” Smith said.

They’re even out during the coldest months of winter with about 15-20 people, she said. “Scarves, hats, gloves, earmuffs — we out here walking.”

When Smith joined in 2017, she didn’t know anyone in the group. Her doctor had recommended more exercise, so when she learned about the walkers, she went out to a meetup.

“They welcomed me with open arms and I’ve been there ever since,” she said.

It quickly became more than a place to work up a sweat, she said. It’s a group where neighbors can share with each other the celebrations and joys of aging in Philly, as well as the challenges and hardships that come with getting older.

“When you sit down and talk to other people, you find out that they’re either going through something or they’ve been through it, and then they can give you some advice to tell you how they dealt with it,” Smith said.

When Margie Witts’ son died in 2018 and she became depressed, she found the walking group a comforting and supportive presence.

“I found out other people had the same situation I had, if not worse,” she said.

Newcomer Jackie Jackson, 60, also found out about the group on Facebook and started walking with them about two days a week. She retired last December.

“I was looking for different things, because when you hit that retirement age, you start feeling like, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to do? I worked all my life, what am I going to do?’ It’s scary,” she said, laughing.

This year was her first time participating in the Senior Strut event.

“Most of the times, it’s relaxed, it’s beautiful, like this morning,” Jackson said.