At 2:00pm on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, Council on Aging Chair Yvette Cain called the CoA’s monthly meeting to order.  Members and Sr. Ctr. staff met in the dining room for this month’s meeting.

First on the agenda was a presentation on the Telecheck program a subset of the State’s 2-1-1 helpline. See an excerpt from the 2-1-1 website below.

“Call2Talk (508.532.2255) is a mental health, emotional support, and suicide prevention program run by Mass211. It operates 24/7 and provides confidential, compassionate listening to assist people – including those who may be despondent or considering suicide – during stressful times. Call2Talk is a National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Crisis Center and partners with Crisis Text Line to respond to people by text.

Besides its primary function as a helpline, Call2Talk also provides the following:

TeleCheck – a telephone check-in service for isolated older adults living at home in partnership with BayPath Elder Services and Advocates, Inc. Serving MetroWest.”

Peter Eagan, (below left) an Associate Member of the CoA, has been involved with the program since it was part of the Samaritan’s support network – approximately 20 years.  Mr. Eagan shared that he makes between 7 and 10 calls to seniors each week to have “conversations with friends” to talk about whatever’s on their mind.  Mr. Eagan is a model of caring – especially for the elder community.

Eileen Davis, (above right) Tri-county United Way VP and Call2Talk Mental Health Line Program Director described the services available, how to access the services, and the extensive training volunteers, like Mr. Eagan, receive before joining the TeleCheck program.  Click here to visit Call2Talk website ->  https://mass211.org/Call2Talk

Nancy King-Bolger, (above center) a Holliston resident is part of Advocates, Inc. in Framingham and works with the newly merged BayPath Elder Services and Springwell organization.  Ms. King-Bolger and Ms. Davis collaborate to make sure seniors experiencing isolation are connected to this support network.

Ms. Davis reported that over 100,000 calls have been received into the 2-1-1 Call2Talk line so far in 2022.

The Council and Senior Center Staff thanked Mr. Eagan, Ms. Davis, and Ms. King-Bolger for sharing this valuable information and there was an exchange of business cards to facilitate ongoing conversations.

Following the presentation, the Council settled into its regular monthly agenda.  First up was communication from the staff and CoA members:

Assistant Director Amanda Boralessa-Looper announced that she has accepted a position with Ameri-Corps and will be leaving the Senior Center on December 28, 2022.  Best wishes for success in her new endeavor and it will be hard to fill her shoes.

Outreach Coordinator Melecia DaCosta has been busy with fuel assistance requests and home visits.  Ms. DaCosta is looking forward working with the Call2Talk resources to assist lonely seniors in Holliston.  Sixty Holiday Gift bags (thank you Girls Scouts) will be delivered next week to Holliston seniors.

Administrative Assistant Debbie Dupuis reported that the Senior Center vehicles are very busy transporting seniors to appointments and errands.

Director Lisa Borchetta shared the following:

• The Holliston Highway Department has been making sure that icy conditions are well treated before the Center opens each day.
• The UMass Survey summary data will be presented to the Select Board at its January 9, 2023, meeting – which will be accessible via Zoom. 
• The data will also be presented in a “public” session to be held at the Senior Center on January 17, 2023.
• The full report will be delivered to the CoA / Sr. Ctr. by the end of January 2023.  These data will be added to the data from the Envision Future Holliston survey to frame Holliston’s vision / strategic planning.
• The Critical Home Repair partnership with Habitat for Humanity has two projects underway, one is approved but not started, one is approved but on hold, and six applications are in the pipeline.

Borchetta distributed information to the Council members regarding how Holliston could be designated an “Age / Dementia Friendly” community.  She hopes that the CoA and the town at-large will embrace the tenets of this designation. Massachusetts Age / Dementia Friendly Characteristics

CoA Vice-chair Kathy Anguish complimented the staff for the excellent Holiday Luncheon held on December 12^th. She added thanks to the HPD for providing the desserts from Gaetano’s bakery.

Mr. Eagan added his thanks and wished that more people could have attended.  The space constraints of the great hall at the center do limit how many can be seated to provide space for the “Tune Timers” orchestra and a dance floor.

Carmen Chiango inquired about how the furniture moving needs at the center have been going.  Center staff have received support from the facilities department and streamlined some processes to reduce the hustle and bustle between programs.

The Council’s next meeting will be on January 11, 2023. This meeting adjourned at 2:59pm