Supporting Retirees at the Myerberg Center: Inbal ‘Innie’ Neun Helps Seniors Enjoy Life to the Fullest

Inbal “Innie” Neun is dedicated to helping seniors live their best lives. As the director of the Edward A. Myerberg Center, she works to create engaging and inclusive programs for retirees.

The Myerberg Center, located in Northwest Baltimore, has more than 1000 members, who participate in its 125 programs, classes and activities. These include in-person and virtual art, fitness and technology classes, as well as social groups.

Many times when a person retires, Neun says, they lose a big part of their purpose. The Myerberg Center help its members find new purpose and new adventures.

“We believe that healthy aging is connection, engagement, purpose,” Neun says. “Studies show again and again that people who are socially active, trying new things, engaging in different activities are healthier in terms of their mental, physical, emotional and overall health.”

Neun, 54, initially had no intention of working with seniors. She studied music therapy and music education while attending the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, hoping to work with children with developmental disabilities. But her first job landed her at a medical adult day care center where she worked with adults who had mental illnesses. This was her first exposure to seniors who were living with Alzheimer’s disease, and the experience was a very impactful one.

At the Myerberg Center, Neun puts her experience with music therapy to good use, often singing with regular members.

The Myerberg Center is a stand-alone institution that is not associated with the city or Baltimore County, so much of Neun’s work involves organizing sources of funding for the center’s programming. Every year, the center holds a fundraiser that helps cover operating costs. While this is often very challenging work, it’s worth it for Neun when she sees how local seniors benefit from the center’s offerings.

One of the center’s key mission statements is inspiring wellness and healthy aging, so the Myerberg Center offers several fitness-related activities. A fitness lover herself, Neun is involved in many of these. She took up boxing following a cancer diagnosis, and the Myerberg Center later began offering its own boxing class in hopes of helping members with Parkinson’s disease due to its beneficial effects on balance. Neun secured a certification as an ACE certified personal fitness trainer in 2023, and she says that she has recently gotten into weightlifting.

“In the end, we can live a long life. But for it to be one of quality, you have to manage your chronic conditions,” she says. “It’s an old saying, but you have to ‘use it or lose it.’ The more active you are, the more benefits there are.”

Neun wants seniors to focus on enjoying their lives to the fullest.

“A lot of seniors are my heroes,” Neun says. “They could spend their days complaining that they’ve lost their spouse, their abilities. … Some have even lost their children. Yet they come in smiling, and they’re so happy to connect with each other. We have so many people here living in the moment and enjoying what they have.”