15 Dec FCS Gets Age-Friendly
Freeport Community Services officially has welcomed Age-Friendly Freeport & Pownal under its umbrella.
Back in 2015, an initiative was launched by a group of passionate volunteers to make Freeport and Pownal a more livable, age-friendly community. “A key part of this was making sure people of all ages could access basic services provided by the towns and Freeport Community Services,” explains Sarah Lundin, Freeport Community Services’ Executive Director. “As the initiative came together, it became a more formal committee, and it broadened its scope to include the health, safety and social inclusion needs particularly of older adults in our area.”
When the pandemic hit, everything came to a complete halt. The halt, however, came with a silver lining in the form of a grant to fund a part-time coordinator for AFFP. In June of 2021, Cathy Cryvoff was hired into the position. The timing was perfect. One of the first things Cathy took on was revamping the transportation program. Since June, volunteer drivers have logged nearly 1,000 hours getting folks without access to a vehicle to doctors appointments and small errands.
With that in place, Cathy turned her attention to another pressing issue. “Social isolation was taking a toll on the health and well-being of many in our community, but especially our older adults,” Cryvoff says. Monthly Senior Socials were launched. Activity-based socials, like holiday cookie decorating, often include students from Freeport High School’s Interact Club or Jobs for Maine Grads program. “It’s so much fun for everyone involved,” says Cryvoff, “and everyone benefits from this kind of multi-generational engagement.”
AFFP has introduced Gentle Chair Yoga on Thursdays at the Freeport Community Center and is working with Southern Maine Agency on Aging to offer Yoga for Healthy Aging on Wednesdays.
“Helping seniors to age safely in their homes is another piece of the AFFP puzzle,” says Cryvoff. For that, she and the AFFP Safety and Home Repair subcommittee turned to organizations like Living to L.A.S.T. and Habitat for Humanity’s Critical Home Repair program. These help local households with the installation of safety devices or repairing roofs or building ramps to make their homes more livable. With safety as a top concern for folks as they age, AFFP is currently engaging volunteers with the sand and shovel brigade organized to help older adults stay safe in wintery conditions.
Bringing AFFP under the Freeport Community Services umbrella will provide critical support and increase the capacity and efficiency of the program. “There is so much more that can be done here in Freeport and Pownal now that we have Cathy Cryvoff officially on board,” FCS’s Sarah Lundin says.
For her part, Cryvoff is thrilled to be a part of FCS. “I’m really looking forward to growing our program,” she says.