Age-Friendly
Fayette/Mount Vernon/Vienna

Contact: Christine Merchant (outreach.aip@yahoo.com)

Joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities: 2018-10-05

Structure: Volunteer central leadership team

The mission of the Mt. Vernon Aging in Place Committee is to assist older adults in finding the supporting resources

and care we need to safely and comfortably age in our homes for as long as possible.

Highlightof 2023: The Mt. Vernon Aging in Place Committee (AIP)The established a "Caring Ears" program in which committee members and others make regular calls to those known to be most at risk health-wise. Due to the success with this effort, in 2021, the Maine Health Access Foundation awarded the AIP Committee a two-year grant to expand the program to Vienna and Fayette and to establish a system in the three towns that will be more proactive in ensuring that the older residents are not only able to age in place but to be healthy at home.

Age-Friendly Mount Vernon's Initiatives and Accomplishments:

Community Supports and Health Services

• Part of the work of the AIP committee was establishing a “Caring Ears” program in which committee members and others made regular calls to those known to be most at risk health-wise. Due to the success of this effort, in 2021, the Maine Health Access Foundation awarded the AIP Committee a two-year grant to expand the program to Vienna and Fayette and to establish a system in the three towns that will be more proactive in ensuring that older residents are not only able to age in place but also be healthy at home.

Respect and Social Inclusion

• The Mt. Vernon Aging in Place Committee was initially formed during the comprehensive planning process. There is an age-friendly section in the plan that was adopted in 2019. By the time our planning process was happening, AARP had established its own age-friendly initiative nationwide around 8 areas of livability. Since many of these areas were reflected in our comprehensive plan section, the committee decided to join the AARP age-friendly network. While COVID certainly affected work on the goals, the committee has continued to move forward.