Monthly Archives: February 2020

Be Careful

Yesterday my husband and I were doing some stocking up at Sam’s Club in Augusta. I saw a young woman employee at a food sample table cough into her plastic -gloved hand then continue setting out free food samples. I called my husband over to me before he snarfed one up and told him what I had seen.

Whitefield Cares! SWAT Team renamed – Neighbors on Call

Hi all –

This is great example of why it’s good to listen to that niggling, tapping on your shoulder saying “Psst – Don’t use military acronyms!”.  And once we looked up what SWAT actually means – Special Weapons and Tactics – that spelled the beginning of the end of that name.  So thanks to the feedback from some of our readers, we are renaming our quick response list to “Neighbors on Call”, better, definitely.

The intention was good, but it is likely true that the “SWAT Team” was “riding a wave of adrenaline” as one of our readers suggested.  Having received our first call for help – and realizing that our “infrastructure” was not yet set up to respond quickly to requests for help, I wanted to move fast and figure out who could help.  But like all learning experiences, this was worth slowing down and fixing the mistake.  Forward!

 

19 February 2020: Sheriff’s Office to start RUOK

The following article appeared in the Boothbay Register on Thursday, January 23rd

Sheriff’s Office to start RUOK

GINA HAMILTON
Thu, 01/23/2020 – 8:15am

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office will begin a new program called RUOK for people who live alone, or for relatives or friends of a loved one who lives alone, with no one checking on them regularly.

Every day, clients will get a telephone call from the Sheriff’s Office at a pre-arranged time to verify the client is all right, Sheriff Todd Brackett said. If the call isn’t answered, either a first responder or a designated person will go to the home to check up on the client, Brackett said.

There is no cost to participate, he said. Applications are available at libraries, town offices, police departments and the Sheriff’s Office.

Introducing the Whitefield Cares! SWAT Team

Hi all – I received my first request for help for a Whitefield resident from a health care social worker in Augusta. She was thrilled to hear about Whitefield Cares and plans to let her colleagues in social work know about our project at other facilities in the area. I spoke to the resident and she is OK for now but will likely need support in the near future.

I’m describing this story because 1) it’s exactly what we want to have happen, where someone in need has a place to call for help, and 2) this incident has raised many questions about how we will operate once people realize we are here as a useful resource. In this example, the woman needed someone to dig her car out the snow and help clean off an icy ramp leading to her house. As it turned out, a neighbor had already helped her with these chores, but it made me realize that we need a contact list of people willing to take on particular tasks. Continue reading →

Materials from AARP

Hi all – When Patricia Oh came and talked to our group, she sent me the attached file that shows a map of all the Age-friendly Communities in Maine (there are many!) and describes the benefits of joining the network.  In short, there are a variety of funding opportunities we would be eligible for as well as receiving the benefits of advice from other communities already in the network.  It seems to me that joining has little downside and we should discuss this opportunity at an upcoming meeting

.AARP_NAFC_Intro_ProgFEB2020

Highlights from the February 12, 2020 Whitefield Cares! meeting

We opened our meeting with an update from Teresa Magnusen, who is organizing our first cooking class at Whitefield Elementary School. The idea is to bring in a few interested community members to help a few middle-school children to learn to cook food available in the school food pantry. Teresa reported that she met with the school nurse and cook to determine who would most benefit from the experience and how to manage it. Teresa hopes to host the cooking class on March 25, on a Wednesday when the children have an early release. If anyone is interested in helping please let us know! Continue reading →

Feb 12 meeting of Whitefield Cares! Meet Patricia Oh from AARP Maine

Please join our upcoming meeting and bring a friend!  Patricia Oh is the Age-Friendly Community Program Manager for AARP Maine and she will join us to help think through our next steps to improve Whitefield as a livable community for all ages.  After the Whitefield Town Meeting (March 21, 2020) we will return to meeting on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.