This e-mail has gone out to everyone who has attended ILOT meetings since January, and is repeated here for the community at large:
Greetings from ILOT, and thank you for the interest you have shown in our organization over the past couple of years. As you know, ILOT is striving to be an independent, membership-based nonprofit that will help older Wayland residents to live in their homes as long as possible. Given the current – and rising – costs of 55+ retirement communities and other living options for older people, aging in place offers significant economic advantages both to the individual and to the town.
Although we haven’t had any public meetings since late June, we’ve been making steady progress. Over these past few months, we have:
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Established a management council, which is meeting regularly. A representative from Weston has begun attending these meeting with an eye to a possible two-town venture.
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Identified services for seniors that are already available in Wayland.
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Surveyed aging-in-place options in a number of communities around the country.
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Secured office space that will be staffed by a volunteer on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings until the end of the year through a partnership with Parmenter (Susan Wagner has volunteered 10-15 hours a week during this period.
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Set a goal for the next three months: to ascertain whether there is sufficient need and interest in town for us to move ahead.
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Provided input for the creation of a 55+ forum on the Wayland eNews website. To register, go to www.Waylandenews.com and click on the 55+ link at the upper right.
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Cooperated with the library in creating a directory of services for older adults in town. The directory will be available later this year in print and on-line formats.
One way for us to do this is to reach out personally to you and other residents of Wayland to explore specific home-based ways of helping people age in place. In order to do that, Susan Wagner and other volunteers will be making individual phone calls to as many people like you, who have shown past interest in our activities, as possible. We hope you will be willing to talk with our ILOT volunteer and share your ideas for services and programs that would be helpful and appropriate.
Although the Wayland Council on Aging, the Library, and many other organizations offer a wide array of services, there are some areas where our assistance could fill in the gaps. For example, our “menu” might include:
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Finding reliable contractors
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Finding certified aging-in-place specialists
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Retrofitting your home to make it safer and more accessible for elders
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Finding cleaning services
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Chores such as leaf raking, snow shoveling, changing light bulbs, carrying boxes
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Exploring co-housing options
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Coordinating available services offered by the town, social services, and health agencies
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Assessing insurance needs
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Grocery shopping and other errands, including disposal of trash and recylables
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Meal preparation/delivery
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Evening and weekend transportation
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Auto repairs/maintenance/inspections
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Computer troubleshooting and personalized instruction
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House/pet sitting, plant watering
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Relief for caretakers/hospital and friendly visits/monitoring medication
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On-line research
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Correspondence and communication with family members/contractors/service personnel
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Home organization/money management/tax preparation
Your ideas about and additions to the above list will be invaluable. We look forward to talking with you soon. Meantime, you can contact us at our e-mail address or by leaving a message at 508-358-3000, Ext. 420.
Please feel free to forward this e-mail to friends and relatives who might be want to know about this. Your adult children might be particularly interested in this initiative to help older residents of Wayland age in place.
With best wishes from the ILOT Management Council,
Mary Antes, John Blair, Betsy Connolly, Jan Dunn, Pat Harlan, John McCahan (Weston representative), Mary Ann McDougall, Marty Nichols, Charlie Raskin, Kathy Raskin, Julie Secord (COA liaison), Susan Wagner
