Age-Friendly Community of Bethel Launches Pilot Program for Seniors — Melinda Remington of Bethel is AFCI’s new “community connector,” providing services such as rides, property cleaning and a walking program for elderly residents of the region. Funded by a grant, Remington will work to strengthen community connections to improve and expand AFCI services. The organization’s board of directors is pictured here: Front: Brie Weisman, Charlie Raymond, Katina Colombotos. Back row: Nancy Davis (past board chair), Wendy Hanscom, Remington, Paula Wheeler, Julie Hart (incoming board chair), Maryvonne Wheeler. (Board members not present for photo: Alison Aloisio, Eileen Broderick, Marilyn DiFilipo, Tim LeConey and Charli Reis.) Submitted photo

BETHEL — The Bethel Age-Friendly Community Initiative is celebrating the launch of a new Community Connections project, a local effort to strengthen the community and promote the well-being of older adults.

The main aim of the project is to establish strong links between local services and older people, allowing them easier access to essential resources and social opportunities. Melinda Remington of Bethel, the new Community Connector, launched the project on November 1 and is already working closely with residents and community partners to fill gaps in access to programs and services and create pathways for participation.

Bethel AFCI currently offers services that include an area walking program staffed by volunteer drivers, a neighbor-to-neighbor partnership program with Telstar High School to help elderly landowners maintain their seasonal property, and a walking program winter held at the Gould Academy Field House. two days a week (currently running on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m.).

Remington shared, “People’s desire to age in place is very strong in our area and the Bethel Area AFCI was born out of a grassroots effort about ten years ago. Concerned citizens gathered around a kitchen table to debate ideas on how to better serve seniors so they can stay and thrive longer in their own homes. Through an affiliation with AARP, Bethel has worked to become an age-friendly community. One by one, other cities joined the effort and AFCI now includes six cities: Bethel, Gilead, Greenwood, Hanover, Newry and Woodstock. The Community Connector position will strengthen existing programs while surveying the needs and aspirations of the community. Hopefully there will be a resurgence of enthusiastic volunteers and participants joining our existing programs and that new, relevant initiatives will emerge. I encourage all individuals and groups to partner creatively with us.

The Community Connections program, a statewide initiative of the Governor’s Office on Aging, is made possible by a $2.5 million investment from the American Rescue Plan Act and is managed in collaboration with the University of Maine Center on Aging and Maine’s five regional agencies on aging. Twelve pilot sites are participating in the Community Connections program across the state, each with goals specific to the unique needs of their community.

Bethel area community members interested in learning more about Community Connections or interested in getting involved are encouraged to contact Remington @[email protected]. To learn more about events, services or volunteer opportunities, visit agefriendlybethel.org, call 824-4444. .

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