News & Updates

October 2026 | Volume 5 Issue 1

Upcoming Events

Stop by our information table at The Cape and Islands Regional Domestic Violence Resource Fair on Wednesday, October 28.

Recent Events

The October 11 Walk for Alzheimer's in Provincetown was a resounding success raising over $50,000 for Alzheimer's Family Support Center. ESCCI was proudly represented by Bill Bogdanovich and Jim Monti and by CEO Maryanne Ryan, pictured above between AFSC co-founders Molly Perdue and Melanie Braverman. We were reminded once again of so many things that make the Outer Cape community inclusive and strong.

Several ESCCI staff members traveled to Boxboro to attend the annual Mass Aging Access conference. Mass Aging Access is a nonprofit membership association that represents the Commonwealth’s 26 Aging Service Access Points and Area Agencies on Aging. In addition to helping us with legislative advocacy, this organization provides important staff development opportunities, both formal and informal. Pictured below are Home Care Manager Valene Baker with Geriatric Support Services Coordinators Daria Eurton and NIcole Pietras.

Remarking on her experience at the conference, Daria said "One session I found especially valuable was “The Impact of Federal Medicaid Changes on MassHealth Members.” This session reinforced how important it is to be prepared to help members maintain their health coverage whenever possible. As a GSSC, I play an essential role in helping members keep their MassHealth coverage by assisting them with renewal forms, explaining notices, and addressing barriers that could cause them to lose coverage. Sometimes, a missed letter or difficulty completing paperwork can put someone's benefits at risk. My role is to help prevent these situations and guide members through the process, because regaining coverage after losing it can be very difficult."

Senior Planet Is Coming Back to the Cape

Good news for anyone who has missed Senior Planet: the popular technology classes for older adults are returning to Cape Cod this fall. Senior Planet programming in Barnstable County has been on pause since May. This November and December, the first pilot lectures of a new statewide Senior Planet initiative, led by Massachusetts Councils on Aging (MCOA), will be held right here in Barnstable County.

The pause was not the end of the story. It was the start of a new chapter that Elder Services helped write.

Five Years of Senior Planet on the Cape

In August 2021, Elder Services joined the very first cohort of organizations licensed to offer Senior Planet from AARP, the flagship program of Older Adults Technology Services (OATS). At the time, many older adults were still finding their way back from pandemic isolation, and technology had become the doorway to nearly everything: doctor visits, family gatherings, banking, and benefits.

Over the years that followed, we brought dozens of Senior Planet lectures, hands-on workshops, and multi-week courses to Councils on Aging across the Cape. More than 800 older adults took part. They learned to use their smartphones and tablets with confidence, spot scams, join telehealth appointments, manage accounts online, and keep in touch with the people they love.

We are proud of that work. But as a stand-alone program inside a regional human services agency, Senior Planet eventually became financially unsustainable for Elder Services. This spring, we made the difficult decision to close our program.

Not Goodbye, but Handing Off

Closing our program did not mean walking away from it. Senior Planet had become a valued educational resource for Cape residents, and we were determined to keep it here.

So Elder Services began working with Paula Hersey, Digital Communications & Marketing Manager at MCOA, on a plan to carry the program forward. Elder Services gave up its Senior Planet license for Barnstable and Dukes counties. MCOA, in turn, secured a new license that covers every county in Massachusetts, with plans to launch the statewide program through a pilot in Barnstable County.

It is a natural fit. Councils on Aging are where older adults already bring their technology questions: a confusing patient portal, a suspicious text message, a new phone, a Zoom appointment. With MCOA coordinating, Senior Planet can grow beyond what any single agency could sustain, and reach communities from the Cape to the Berkshires.

What Comes Next

MCOA is starting small and building carefully. Here is what to expect:

• November and December 2026: The first pilot Senior Planet lectures will be held in Barnstable.

• January 2027: Council on Aging staff and community volunteers will be able to enroll in free Senior Planet instructor training.

• After the pilot: MCOA will use what it learns to strengthen the model and gradually expand, region by region, from east to west across the state.

As before, classes will cover the topics older adults ask about most, including smartphones and tablets, email and the internet, scams and online safety, telehealth, online banking, social media, digital photography, and artificial intelligence.

There is also a role for the community. Senior Planet depends on trained instructors, and MCOA is hoping to build a network of local volunteers, such as retired teachers, former IT professionals, college students, and anyone who enjoys helping others feel at ease with technology.

Want to take a class, or help teach one? Watch for announcements from your local Council on Aging, or contact Paula Hersey at MCOA at paula@mcoaonline.org.

We are grateful to every participant, instructor, and Council on Aging partner who made Senior Planet a success on the Cape, and to MCOA for carrying it forward. We can't wait to see it grow.

Early voting in Massachusetts opened this past Saturday. Your vote matters for our democracy. Make a plan and vote early if you can. Here is information on early voting in all towns.

If you are in long term care, you must be registered in the town where you are residing. The Secretary of State has an online tool for checking your registration status. Residents must register by Oct. 24 to cast a ballot in the general election. If you feel the staff at your facility is making it difficult for you to cast your vote, reach out to Tracy Diggs, Long Term Care Ombudsman Program Manager at 508-258-2480 or Tracy.Diggs@escci.org.

Massachusetts Takes Aim at Crypto ATM Scams

By Molly Kleinstein, AARP Massachusetts

Cryptocurrency kiosks, often called crypto or Bitcoin ATMs, may look like traditional ATMs, but they have increasingly become a tool used by scammers to steal people’s hard-earned money. Now, communities across Massachusetts are acting while state lawmakers consider whether to ban the machines across the state.

Just this fall, Dennis approved a ban on cryptocurrency ATMs, making it one of 21 Massachusetts communities taking local action. It’s the first town on the Cape to do so and could provide an example for other communities considering similar consumer protections.

The financial impact of these scams is hitting Massachusetts residents hard. According to FBI data, Massachusetts residents filed 296 complaints involving crypto kiosk scams in 2025, resulting in $6.8 million in reported losses, or nearly $19,000 every day.

Scammers create a sense of urgency to pressure people into depositing cash at a crypto kiosk, where the money is sent directly to the criminal. Once it’s transferred, getting that money back can be extremely difficult. This is particularly concerning for older adults, who accounted for more than $302 million in reported losses in 2025.

Right now, there’s legislation on Beacon Hill to ban machines across the Commonwealth. The move is part of a broader economic development proposal that is in a conference committee. The proposal has not yet become law and must pass the remaining legislative process before a statewide ban could take effect.

Dennis offers a great example of how one community has already taken steps to respond. For other communities across Cape Cod and the Commonwealth, it could be part of a much larger conversation about how to keep residents and their money safe from scammers.AARP is committed to fighting fraud. If you would like to learn more about our push to ban cryptocurrency ATMs and become one of our fraud fighters, learn more at www.aarp.org/ma.

Kindness, Integrity, Accountability & Teamwork are the Cornerstones of our Success.

Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands, Inc., is a registered 501c3 organization. We rely on numerous sources of income in order to accomplish our Agency’s mission and depend on the generosity of our community to help us reach our goals.

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