Wayland Town Crier 11/19/10: Public Independent Living Options Team moving forward. PILOT is a grassroots organization with the mission of helping older people sustain the quality of their lives in their later years while remaining in their homes as long as they can. To accomplish this goal, PILOT will offer information and services to promote peace of mind, social support and a sense of community. The group envisages a three-tiered structure of services. The first would include those that can be offered immediately at the rollout of the program, such as companionship, cooking and meals, escort, handyman and repairs, grocery shopping, housekeeping, laundry, pet care, basic respite care, and telephone reassurance. The next level would involve referrals for such undertakings as downsizing, heavy chores, snow removal, and yard work.

Wayland Town Crier 9/23/10: Spitz: Group aims to link seniors and services. If my mother-in-law has a problem with her plumbing, finding help could be tough. We can't diagnose the problem over the phone, so do we try the Yellow Pages in a city 1,000 miles away? Google and see what pops up? Tell her to ask friends for recommendations? Consult consumer comments on Angie's List? What if the plumber charges her twice the going rate, or doesn't really fix what's wrong? If she lived a little closer, it would be a whole lot easier. Local councils on aging might be able to steer us in the right direction.