News
07/29/2015
Commission report calls for ongoing study of senior needs
The Senior Citizens Advisory Commission has recommended a series of steps the town should take to ensure its senior population maintains the quality of life all town residents deserve.
Town councilors accepted what the commission called a preliminary report at their meeting July 13, 2015. The commission was established last year to advise the council on issues facing residents 60 and older. Councilors said they would review the findings in detail at a future workshop.
The recommendations mirror those presented to the council last November. The first is that the ad hoc commission become a standing committee to support the research needs of the Town Council on matters related aging. "You will note that we have delivered to you a preliminary report as the subtle suggestion that the discussion needs to be ongoing," commission Chair Brett Seekins told councilors on July 13.
"Rather than a fixed and boxed in set of 'Do's and Don'ts' for our Town Council, these preliminary findings are to be viewed as a working guide that’s subject to change because, we, and our communities, are subject to change," the report says.
The remaining six recommendations encourage communication, transportation and seniors' need to remain connected to the community at large:
- Expand and Enhance communication efforts in town that report out on aging issues and supports.
- Develop a Senior Citizen Community Guide position, reporting to the town manager, to provide in-take relief and answers to community aging questions.
- Expand Community Services Senior Programming.
- Provide for a 12-14 Passenger Van for utilization of Senior Programming services.
- Provide for a Senior Hall or Senior Gathering Place for annual events.
- Conduct an updated Senior Housing Survey to address and access future housing needs in our community.
"Community involvement and connection is important, sometimes vitally so," says the 38-page report. Isolation is the common thread and threat to seniors' health and quality of life, the report says,
Residents aged 60 and older account for 24 percent of Cape Elizabeth's 9,000 residents, Seekins told councilors in an interim report last November. The town follows statistics for the state of Maine, which has the nation's oldest population and second-oldest work force, Seekins said. Cape Elizabeth's average age is 46.9, compared to the statewide average of 43.8 and nationwide average of 35.6.
The seven-member committee met twice a month throughout 2014 and early 2015, consulting with experts from the medical, spiritual, and legal communities as well as government and non-profit agencies. The broad base of input lead the commission to recommend private or shared-community solutions first, "rather than rely upon scarce public resources as a definitive sole-source for explication and funding," the report says.
In his presentation, Seekins commended the council for its timely call to action. "We believe the issues we've uncovered and the recommendations we've provided will give you a comprehensive, affordable platform to springboard thoughtful policy that will effectively transition our community while enhancing the safety and well being of our fellow aging neighbors," Seekins said.
Jessica Sullivan, a councilor, said she looked forward to fulfilling this Town Council goal, and likewise credited the committee. "This was quite a long task, there were many many meetings of many many hours and I think this committee's done an incredibly comprehensive job of looking at the issues facing our aging population in Cape Elizabeth," Sullivan said.
