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Early Pioneers Blaze Trail To
Peter Morelli was one of the key people who made Age-Friendly Maine happen. Using the contacts he had made professionally, he and Lori Parham helped spread the word across the entire state.
Patricia Oh told us: “He had the connections and the deep knowledge of municipal process to make magic.”
In his own words:
Policy makers 10 -15 years ago were very concerned about Maine’s aging population and the challenges in providing services to older residents. The Muskie School’s Charles Colgan warned about “The Baby Boom Bomb,” dramatically labeling the out-sized increase in the older portion of the population. Experts in 2015 would say that Maine had the oldest population in the nation, and that the 15 percent the population over 65 years of age would increase from 15% to 25% by 2025. (Well, we made 23% by 2024; close.) Many towns were much older.
A key report helped Maine set out on its age-friendly journey. Building a Collaborative Community Response to Aging in Place: A Guide to Creating an Age-Friendly Maine One Community at a Time was released in September 2013. The John T. Gorman Foundation was the funder and supported the age-friendly program throughout its early years. AARP State Director Lori Parham was one of its coauthors. The report highlighted aging in place as a significant issue for many Mainers, strongly endorsing community-driven municipal strategies to allow people to age comfortably and safely in the homes and communities they love.
Inspired by the report, Parham began introducing the age-friendly approach and the World Health Organization's eight domains of livability to municipal leaders in the same year. The John T. Gorman Foundation funded two years of consulting services that would establish Maine’s age-friendly program through AARP Maine.
That’s where I came in. I was Director of Planning and Development for the City of Saco at the time and convened an “Imagine an Age-Friendly Saco” forum in October 2013 after learning about the program from AARP Maine. The meeting explored local aging issues and introduced the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. We worked on a detailed community analysis of issues and opportunities related to aging in Saco.
The process in Saco hit a few bumps before I left. It was later completed with the volunteer leadership of Jean Saunders, who in 2016 received municipal support to enroll Saco in the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. She continues to lead Saco’s effort.
Months later, on the way to an age-friendly related meeting in Augusta, Lori asked if I would lead the age-friendly program as a consultant to the AARP, which I did for 2.5 years beginning in October 2014. It was a joy to travel the state and talk with local people eager to make their communities better.
Meanwhile, Patricia Oh was assisting a group of grassroots age-friendly activists in Bowdoinham, Maine, who successfully advocated for inclusion of age-friendly community development to support aging in place in the update to the town's Comprehensive Plan Committee. In December 2013, Bowdoinham became the first Maine community to enroll in the WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.
Later, Patricia joined AARP’s consulting team and, as we know, has continued to have an extraordinary impact in helping the program thrive in nearly 100 communities. Her deep knowledge of age-friendly and social work, combined with my experience with town planning and local government, helped the program to find its footing.
AARP was a great first home for age-friendly. If we needed help conducting a survey, for instance, we had a survey researcher available – a national office employee who happened to live in Maine. If a local age-friendly committee identified an issue, such as transportation, accessibility, pedestrian safety, or housing, in their action plan, AARP had fact sheets, booklets, or more elaborate kits teaching about the issues. The WHO information was urban-oriented; we found that the more rural-oriented resources developed by Canada were a big help.
One of our early findings was that the small communities needed help with planning. John T. Gorman Foundation stepped up again, along with AARP, to provide small grants to help towns start their AF plans. Often, those grants were used for community surveys.
Every town was different. Portland started early when Elder Services Director Linda Weare worked with two Muskie School interns to conduct initial A-F inventories. That led to the state’s first AARP AF enrollment in August 2014. Ellsworth followed in December. Paris was next in March 2015. Their interest grew out of its Strategic Plan for Market Square. Kennebunk was next, with Bethel enrolling in September 2015.
Bethel’s effort grew out of several forums on aging held by Western Mountains Senior College. The Bethel committee always knew how to celebrate its successes with wine and food at someone’s house after a meeting. No wonder Newry and other small nearby towns later joined with Bethel.
Coupling great local volunteers, town support, and the robust age-friendly methodology created a firm footing for the network we see today.
To learn more, go to The Age-Friendly Community Movement in Maine in the Maine Policy Review.
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