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Date: 4/7/2022
CHESTER — On April 14, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Chester Town Hall Auditorium at 15 Middlefield Road, a Senior Safety information event will be presented, showcasing new senior outreach programs being implemented by the town. Light refreshments will be served.
Chester-Blandford Police Chief Tammy Weidhaas, Hampden County Sheriff’s Officer Elizabeth DePaula, Chester Fire Department Administrator Bob Broga and Council on Aging Director Ann Daley will present a list of Senior Safety steps. Seniors, their families and friends are welcome.
The topics include cybercrime and scams, home safety inspections, house numbering and the R U Safe program for a daily phone call to seniors at home who sign up.
“We would like to support your safe independence in your home. If you can’t be safe, you can’t be home alone,” said Daley. She said the Council on Aging and Fire Department have received a grant to provide house numbers for seniors, and the Sheriff’s Department and Fire Department can do home safety inspections, and check on over 200 items.
The R U Safe program, started by DePaula and the Sheriff’s Office, is based on one at the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, in cooperation with its local police departments and councils on aging. It provides a daily telephone call to senior citizens, disabled persons and people who live alone, to check that they are safe.
“The person picks the time they want them to call, and the person lets them know when they’re going to be away. If no one answers, the police will do a wellness check,” said Daley. She said the Bristol County program makes 1,000 phone calls a day.
Daley said the Council on Aging is just starting to get new programs up and running after COVID-19. “We’re just beginning. I was just appointed at the end of October,” Daley said. In the fall, the council hosted a successful Veterans Dinner at the Chester Common Table, and plans to do another one this year.
“The social deprivation was brutal on everybody. People are getting pretty antsy,” Daley said.
In March, the council ordered 428 meals from the Highland Valley Elder Services for its lunch program, which started in the last year serving lunches on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays “for seniors that retired a long time ago.” Daley called them a bonus meal for people who may be living on tea, toast and peanut butter.
On May 9, the lunch will be served picnic-style at the Chester Railway Station. Daley said Highland Valley will deliver the lunches at the station that day.
The Highland Valley Brown Bag program also continues once a month. The food is delivered on the third Friday of the month in Huntington, and the Chester and Middlefield councils on aging coordinate to pick them up.
“We deliver a lot of them, for people who can’t drive or pick up the bags,” Daley said.
Daley said she plans in the near future to survey residents about other programs the Council on Aging may offer.
“I’ve been here just barely long enough, and need information to go forward,” she said.
For additional information, call the Council on Aging at 354-7735, and leave your name and a telephone number where you can be reached.