Age Friendly South Portland
Lisa Joyce and Teagan Blackie

In the Beginning

In 2017, the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, was convened by Maxine Beecher, then a member of the City Council. The committee began work to create a needs assessment with residents 65 and older. The Council budgeted $6,000 for this. Using The World Health Organization’s 8 Domains of Livability, they reported their findings and recommendations to the Council. 

After receiving the report, the Mayor proclaimed  2020 as “The Year of Senior Residents” and created the Senior Steering Implementation Committee, now known as Age- Friendly South Portland. Using an additional $15,000 from the Council, the committee worked to establish measurable, goals for implementing the assessment recommendations and they also began to implement recommended changes in such areas as housing, home maintenance and transportation. At the same time, they began advocacy efforts and to explore grant opportunities. 

Initiatives and Accomplishments

Volunteers are the heart of Age-Friendly South Portland and through the years, they have had many passionate people who align with their mission. These volunteers have been crucial to making several initiatives possible including:

• Emergency Preparedness

  • Develop training 

  • Provide Go-Bags 

  • Provide on-site in-person training sessions for South Portland Housing Authority residents

• Produce the Senior Resource Fair

• Provide a $50 match to seniors who qualify for state Farm Share Program

• Partner with Southern Maine Area Agency on Aging to provide wellness classes.

• Distribute sand buckets 

• Organize volunteer shoveling program

• Create the Pedestrian Safety Program that includes using AARP Challenge Grant Funds to improve pedestrian safety at intersections and on the Greenbelt trail.

• Recognize businesses that keep sidewalks clean with the Golden Shovel Award

• Develop a Falls Prevention program that partners with the South Portland Fire Department. When the SPFD goes on a call for a person who has fallen, but has not been taken to the hospital, they offer that person the opportunity of meeting a licensed physical therapist to review what may have caused the fall and to offer fall prevention ideas and to let them know what other resources are available.  

Recent and Future Successes 

In the years since their founding, this committee has focused on developing strong relationships with other boards and commissions in the city and the City Departments which allow them to expand their reach and serve more citizens. Some examples of this include working with Public Works on snow projects. They also worked with the planning department to organize a community forum on the new Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Ordinance which provided residents with information about permitting ADUs, financing, design, how to be a landlord and renting to Section 8 tenants.

Last year, they received an AARP Challenge Grant to provide Disaster Preparedness Training for residents of South Portland Housing Authority buildings. This was in partnership with the Housing Authority and the Fire Department. These are two groups that AFSP had wanted to work with in the past and not had the right project. Because of this, they are now working with the Housing Authority to provide adaptive technology for residents. This was made possible by generous funding from the Maine Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP). There will be other projects with the Fire Department going forward.

Working with communities across the state can be beneficial for any age-friendly initiative. Drawing from the experience of others, as well as connecting with others, serves to further enhance local programming. This is no different for AFSP. A major lesson they have learned is the power of connection. Working with others in the community, they extend their reach and work on more issues that community members in South Portland have.  The more partners, both municipal and civic, the broader reach they  have and the more they can do. AFSP has worked so hard to create a program they are proud of - this article is just a glimpse into their successes!