COVID, Elders and Transportation

Community Action News

July 2020

Community Action in a Pandemic

It is July in Maine, and nothing is as you would expect. The hail was so deep during a storm in York County last week, snowplows were called in. The lines of cars were stacked up before the Independence Day holiday, but that's been unusual this year. So what's a Mainer to do? Staycation, support your local economy, and if you need help making ends meet due to losing your job, childcare, or you need rent, call your local Community Action Agency (CAA).

Today's eNews is all about where we are today, and how we've been here for you. Our programs are many, and vary across the state, but the big issues we have in common. The issues that face our state: high energy prices, safe and healthy aging and the lack of transportation are on our minds every day. So we partner with other organizations to seek solutions. Here are some of those partnerships, in action.

#CommunityActionResponds

Did you know we can help with your electric bills? Or that once you have that, there is even more we can help with? Your local CAA partners with your electricity provider to help customers get back on track when they fall behind with the Arrearage Management Program, or AMP. Here is one woman's story:

At Penquis , a staff person working with a client discovered that in addition to a large, outstanding electricity bill she had a number of unmet needs. Her rent is $700 / month and she lives on Social Security. She wasn’t currently using the supplemental nutrition benefit (SNAP) so the staff encouraged her to give it a try. The client now uses SNAP and Meals on Wheels so she can access affordable, healthy meals. The staff further helped by sending her a list of subsidized housing in her county and she has put in applications for more affordable rent. She was so grateful to have the resources, she said they are life changing. She should pay off her outstanding electric bill (on which she owed $2400 a few years ago) in the next month with the help of the Arrearage Management Program. With the money she does not have to spend on food, she has been able to keep up with her electric bill. Now she keeps her bill to $15 in the summer and $100 in the winter, she is eating regularly and able to better care for her health. This is what your local Community Action Agency is doing for our neighbors across the state.

A State Plan for our Elders

Maine is the largest and most rural New England state. Traveling from Kittery to Madawaska takes six and a half hours by car on the interstate, or almost ten hours traveling coastal Route One, assuming ideal weather conditions. The average annual snowfall in Maine is 60 to 110 inches, and the shortest day is 8 hours and 51 minutes with the sun setting at 4:02 pm. These conditions present significant barriers to older Mainers establishing meaningful connections in their communities and accessing needed services that can support and maintain independence.

The Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) partnered with the Muskie School of Public Service to conduct a statewide assessment of community needs of older adults and care partners. The goal of the statewide assessment was to gather information directly from older Mainers living in diverse regions across the state, in both urban and rural settings, to inform the State and its community partners about the most pressing needs around Maine, and to shed light on how best to prioritize existing services - or develop new ones - to meet those needs.

Primary topic areas included:

• Transportation

• Housing

• Food and nutrition

• Caregiving

• Information and referral

• Community assets

Eight regional Listening Sessions were conducted across the state. Locations included small rural towns as well as Maine’s larger cities. The sessions were designed to hear, in greater detail, about community assets and the needs of older adults and caregivers. The committee is holding two more listening sessions and all are welcome to participate.

OAA State Plan on Aging Public Hearing #1 – July 21, 2020 – 12:00 to 1:30 pm

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84099902242?pwd=MW9oekY1RzRkYmxNclpoQ0Mwdms0dz09

Meeting ID: 840 9990 2242

Password: 7DpV?Y

OAA State Plan on Aging Public Hearing #2 – July 23, 2020 – 4:30 to 6:00 pm

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87079939249?pwd=VGcyTE1meUN2clpyUGQvODRaR0F2Zz09

Meeting ID: 870 7993 9249

Password: 3HZ3Q9

MovingMaine

MeCAP has joined the Moving Maine Network, which facilitates better transportation access for all Mainers by advancing cross-sector coordination, informing policy change, and spurring innovation. The Network is a multi-sector, statewide collaborative – working to improve access to transportation for all, with a special focus on people who experience barriers.

We look forward to creating structures that help everyone to get around, whether a few miles to work or school or from Portland to Bangor.

Opening, Carefully

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