The Commission on Aging March 18 hybrid meeting included a visit from a local police officer who offered praise for senior center staff and news of an arrest of an individual charged with assaulting a senior citizen. It also included the announcement of one grant received, the hope for a second, and a brief discussion concerning safety procedures at Newtown Senior Center.

Newtown Police Department Officer Maryhelen McCarthy addressed the commission during the public comment portion of their meeting. She opened by offering praise for Director of Human Services Natalie Griffith, whose job includes directing Newtown Senior Center.

“Natalie and her staff have been wondering, working with the police department and their resources, and we’ve been using them a lot,” she said. McCarthy said she had five cases that Griffith and her resources were assisting with.

“If we use her with the resources, they’re not coming back again and again and that’s really our goal, is to get people the help that they need, and her staff has been phenomenal with that,” McCarthy said.

There has been talk, she said, of creating or updating cards with names of local organizations and people, and contact information, that would be helpful for people looking for answers.

“We can actually, as police, hand out some of these cards,” she said. “A lot of times people don’t need us, they need resources, and they want those direct names, and they want those live people and telephone numbers.”

McCarthy said she and Griffith are in preliminary talks about having “a multi-dimensional, fun senior event,” similar to something done about ten years ago, “with several groups that are really important to the senior population.”

Newtown PD members have visited Walnut Tree Village several times, she said, to speak informally with residents who may have questions or concerns.

“It’s nothing formal, just letting them know they can call me or Natalie if they need to,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy also told COA members about an arrest the department made the previous week, when a male was charged with elder abuse, “which is really, really hard to do.”

The unnamed male was charged with second degree assault and reckless endangerment due to what they allegedly had done to a resident with dementia in a local nursing home.

“This just goes to show you: just because somebody can’t speak on their behalf doesn’t mean that we can’t investigate. If you have family members, or you have friends, and you think something is wrong, absolutely call us, contact us,” she urged the group.

The patient’s wife, the nursing director and ombudsman, “everybody there came together. It wasn’t just a police effort. It took the whole village to get this arrest,” she said. “It was a real group effort. The PD could not have succeeded without all these agencies.”

McCarthy declined to share too many details, telling the board members that the arrest had “just happened” following a four-month investigation.

She reiterated, however, that “things are happening that you may not see every day, but we’re here for you.” She said the commission and those who patronize the senior center have “a great director here, and she’s got a great staff,” referring to Griffith and two senior center assistants who also work at 8 Simpson Street.

Director’s Report

Griffith opened her report by announcing more than 60 people attended the St Patrick’s Day event held earlier that day at the senior center. Guests raved about the food, which came from Blue Colony Diner, she said.

“Folks really had a good time,” she added.

A pool tournament was on the calendar for later that week, and the annual Spring Fling event, coordinated with Newtown Parks & Recreation, was approaching on April 5.

“Newtown High School’s Culinary Department will be doing the meal again, and our own Matt Ames will be the DJ and emcee again this year. We’re expecting a bigger turnout than last year, which was the first since COVID and everyone had lots of fun,” she added.

An AARO Flagship Grant application was submitted March 6, she reported. Notice of awards will be in mid-May.

“I think we put together a very strong application,” she said. Funds will be used, she reminded the commission, to connect the new front patio with the back patio already established, and to add fencing to offer privacy and a safety barrier from the parking lot.

Griffith had an appointment to meet with First Selectman Jeff Capeci and Friends of Newtown Seniors President John Boccuzzi Sr later that week concerning the grant possibility through Western CT Area Agency on Aging, she also reported.

“We’re hoping for more use and opportunities with the SweetHART bus” if that grant is approved, she said.

Putting on her Social Services hat, Griffith offered thanks to community partners who have donated funds to help cover energy assistance needs for residents.

“The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program helps residents heat their homes, but we’re seeing funds dissipate quickly now that we’re at the tail end of the energy assistance program,” she said. Newtown Lions Club, The Salvation Army and The Newtown Fund have helped cover some of the gaps.

“We appreciate what they do in our community,” she said.

Griffith also thanked Women Involved in Newtown for another year of helping with “a really special project that happens every year,” the Easter Baskets Program. Families with small children are identified through Human Services, she said, and WIN fills dozens of baskets through collections and donations through the club.

“Today and tomorrow, families identified through this effort are able to pick up an Easter basket for each child from our offices,” she said.

Griffith also reminded commissioners that Connecticut’s Renter’s Rebate program opens April 1, when renters who are elderly and/or totally disabled, and whose income does not exceed certain limits, can apply for reimbursement.

“Rebates range up to $900 for married couples, up to $700 for single folks, and it’s based on a graduated income scale,” she reminded those at the meeting. Applications are available at the Town’s Human Services office. “If you know of family members, neighbors or friends who would benefit, please help us get the word out that this is something that’s available to our seniors who are renting.”

Griffith closed her report by asking for thoughts and suggestions on how to improve the reporting done each month on the number of people who attend senior center events.

Nicole Nicholson runs a report through the online portal the senior center uses to track registration for events, Griffith explained. The results, which cover the activities offered and what the participation numbers are, are included each month with Griffith’s written report to the COA.

“I’m open to any thoughts on how to improve that reporting,” she said. “I don’t know if these can be more helpful.”

Griffith admitted one thing she and her employees “constantly struggle with is not tackling everyone when they come through the door, to get them to swipe in.” For one recent event, she said, 16 people checked in at the front desk, but “there were probably 25 ladies in the room” when Griffith looked in after the program began.

“I recognize these aren’t 100% accurate,” she said of the reports. “It’s data, but let me know if you think there is a different way to read this, or if you want to volunteer to be a bodyguard at the door to get people to swipe their cards when they arrive,” she added, drawing laughs.

Later in the meeting, Commissioner Claire Theune raised the point again.

“If people aren’t swiping in, you’re not aware of who’s in the building,” she said. “I’d like to look into that more carefully. That’s risky.”

Griffith agreed.

Commissioner Pat Bailey asked if a second card swiping machine could be purchased.

“Many people have their cards in their hands to be swiped outside the building, and then they just bypass the machine if there’s a line,” she said. “Would it be possible to install something on the door itself, or another machine, to make sure more people actually sign in?”

Griffith said the center may be able to get a second machine to swipe membership cards.

Old Business

At the invitation of COA Chair Anne Rothstein, Commissioner Judit DeStefano offered a follow-up on an online survey the commission undertook late last year concerning the needs and wishes of the town’s senior population.

DeStefano said approximately 25 people responded to the survey, with 65-74 being the average age of those who opted in. She cautioned there was no way to ensure that no one did more than one survey.

The survey was an attempt to see if there was a need to bring in UR Community Cares, a Manchester-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that spoke to COA last summer. UR Community Cares was hoping to expand its programming into Newtown.

The COA in March decided UR Community Cares and the local Friends of Newtown Seniors, especially the latter’s Chore Services program, were too similar.

DeStefano said the impression she received, even from “the pretty small response” to the COA survey, was “the program is already here, and it would be a redundancy” to have UR Community Cares added.

FONS Chore Services “seems to be doing better now than it had in the past,” Rothstein agreed. “I would like to let FONS continue with what it’s already doing.”

Griffith pointed out FONS was prepared to unveil another offering for local seniors, a program called Newtown Rides.

“They already have 10+ volunteer drivers who will help people do errands, visit friends, visit the senior center, and other places in town they need or want to go,” she said.

Rothstein said if the WCAAA grant “comes through, that will be more transportation for seniors.

“I think we should not consider UR Community Cares. Right now it doesn’t look viable,” she said.

Long-Term Planning

Commissioner Barbara Bloom raised long-term planning, and whether there is a need to fit programs into the senior center schedule “when there is a lull during the day.

“Now would be a good time to start that, fill in the gaps when the senior center is quiet and try to do more programs,” she suggested.

Griffith said there aren’t many times when the center is quiet, however.

“While numbers were very low after COVID, I don’t find many days with lulls,” she said. “In fact, we often have to find space for everyone. We’re certainly trying to keep a constant flow.”

The center hosts multiple fitness and social programs, and at least one speaker per day if not two, she said.

“Between 3 and 4, when we close for the day, is our quieter time, but we’re always open to ideas of what folks want,” she said.

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Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.