News and Updates for September 2023

News & Updates

September 2023 | Issue 12

Upcoming Events

Be sure to visit our booth at any of these upcoming events.

Falmouth Senior Center Open House, September 18

Domestic Violence Council Resource Fair, September 21

Barnstable 55+ Community Safety Day, September 28

Veterans Stand Down

October 13

Recent News

Kerri Lyford, Director of ESCCI's Senior Community Service Employment Program, visited Duffy Health Center's REACH Mobile Unit to meet with jobseekers who might benefit from the program. The program recently received a grant of $222,969 from the Center for Workforce Inclusion for FY24 operations. Over 90% of this grant will be used for program participants wages and benefits. Learn more here.

Service Spotlight

Thank you, Deb Kunze, for your military and volunteer service!!

A native Cape Codder, Deb was born in Bourne. She served as part of the Army Security Agency, stationed at Fort Devens in Ayer where she met her husband, Keith. Now widowed, Deb returned to Cape Cod in 2020, to be nearer to family.

Deb was introduced to Elder Services through a Case Manager affiliated with local veterans support services. She has many years of clerical and data entry experience. Her professional skill set, experience, and interest are perfectly suited to serve as a volunteer administrative assistant in our South Dennis office. Deb has volunteered each Wednesday since June 2021, often choosing to arrive early, and sometimes staying beyond her scheduled time, to see a project to its completion.

Deb volunteers not only with ESCCI, but weekly with the Veterans Outreach Center Food Pantry in Hyannis. She enjoys volunteering, and sees the benefits of staying active and engaged in her community, as well as gaining a feeling of fulfillment through helping others in her community.

Elder Services Announces FY2024 Title III Grantees

As the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) for our region, Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands receives Title III B and D Community Federal Grants. This year, Elder Services is able to award $130,000 in Federal Title III funding to 13 local partners providing need services to all people in the community aged sixty and older. Funding decisions are made by an advisory committee based on input received during public hearings and through a tri-annual community needs assessment conducted by Elder Services.

Jim Worthington, chair of the Title III Advisory Board says “While transportation remains a critical need in our area, particularly on the Outer and Lower Cape, testimony at the public hearings pointed to emerging needs in the areas of caregiver respite and technology assistance and education.” Community Services Officer Sarah Franey noted that “the board’s funding decisions responded to current trends by assessing the programs’ potential geographical scope, and greatest number of individuals to be served.”

Palliative and Support Care of Nantucket is using its Title III funding to support a part-time counselor who provides one-on-one support for family caregivers, leads both the Caregiver Support and Bereavement Groups, and makes outreach presentations in the community. Betsey Minihan, Palliative Care Office Supervisor at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, explained, “These funds enable us to really ramp up our presence in the community and reach more people in need of these services.”

The FY2024 grantees are:

MV Center for Living

A full Island shuttle service will provide older and disabled adults with an accessible and convenient way to do their own grocery shopping and errands on a weekly basis.

Brewster Council on Aging

This program provides seniors transportation to medical appointments and stipends to volunteer drivers to cover travel expenses.

Truro Council on Aging

This program provides senior residents of Truro transportation to and from medical appointments.

Helping Our Women

This program provides critically ill women, in the Outer Cape area, with transportation to and from medical appointments.

Samaritans on Cape Cod & the Islands

The Senior Outreach program is (1) a public relations campaign to ensure that older adults understand that crisis lines are for people who are lonely, in crisis or even suicidal; (2) a referral program for outgoing calls, and (3) an Elder Suicide Prevention Training workshop that provides tools to help community members reduce the risk of elder suicide.

Palliative and Support Care of Nantucket

Provides individualized assessment, education, counseling, and referral services for Nantucket caregivers.

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Provides caregiver homemaking services and equipment to Wampanoag Tribal Elders within Barnstable County.

Sight Loss Services

The program will provide any elder in need with assisted transportation to eye care procedures which require a responsible party to assist them, and to simple medical procedures such as blood draws.

Orleans Council on Aging

The “Sip and Swipe Café” provides 1:1 technology instruction to older adults all while enjoying coffee and socialization.

Martha’s Vineyard Community Services

Provides in-home/community short-term assessment, intervention, and referral for mental health and substance abuse issues for elders 60 and over.

Chatham Council on Aging

Meeting multiple times per month, this program provides resources and support for older adult LGBTQ+ individuals Cape-wide, including bereavement services, enrichment opportunities, specialized legal support, educational experiences, and social activities.

South Coastal Counties Legal Services

Funding for the “Elder Law Project” which provides free, civil legal services to income eligible seniors on the Cape and Islands through direct services, referral, and community outreach and education.

Alzheimer’s Family Support Center

Provides free supportive counseling services to caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementia related illnesses, utilizing state of the art teleconferencing technology to connect on–Cape caregivers, counselors, and long-distance family members.

September is Suicide Prevention Month: Connection is Prevention

Suicide is Preventable. Here’s How You Can Help

By Karen Ellery-Jones, Assistant Director

September is Suicide Prevention Month where we encourage everyone to talk openly about suicide and mental health in our communities because, when we do, it helps reduce the stigma and shame that stops many people from reaching out for help. It’s a time where we can learn about recognizing the risk factors and warning signs, and what to do if someone we love or know expresses they want to die.

On Cape Cod and the Islands, the suicide death rate of adults over 55 is troubling. Last year, 8 out of a reported 21 residents who died by suicide were over 55. And in 2021, that number was even greater; half of the documented 32 suicides were people 55 and older. This is not only a Cape Cod concern, but a nationwide public health challenge that will continue to grow. Though older adults make up approximately 12% of our total population, they account for 18% of all suicides. If you consider that by 2040 there is projected to be 80 million older adults, it is critical that we address the complexities of our mental health care system.

We know that several factors increase the risk for suicide in older adults including depression, loneliness, isolation, death of a spouse, chronic illnesses, loss of self-sufficiency, and financial insecurity. But we need to remember suicide is a complex psychological state where several factors collide to cause a person to think suicide is the only way to escape their immeasurable pain and is rarely attributed to one single factor.

How can we mitigate risk factors, so we keep ourselves and our loved ones safe? Make sure there are enough social connections; we need these to thrive. Our early human ancestors knew the value of moving in groups to secure safety, food, care-giving, and procreation. Take advantage of your community’s offerings to socialize and connect with others. Knitting, cards, walking, reading, sharing coffee or . . .