The Commission on Aging’s (COA) brief October 16 meeting continued discussion of a survey the commission hopes to use to gauge the needs and wishes of local senior citizens, offered updates on an outdoor patio at Newtown Senior Center, and touched on a potential behavioral health alliance being developed for this town.

COA Commissioner Barbara Bloom conducted the meeting in the absence of Chair Anne Rothstein.

Department of Human Services (DHS) Director Natalie Jackson opened her report by stating she was “very excited to share we are almost fully staffed again” thanks to the return of Corinne Ofgang, DHS clinical manager.

Ofgang returned to work that morning following maternity leave.

Jackson and her department continue to search for a replacement for Care Navigator/Social Worker Alyssa Cole, who left Newtown for a position with the Town of New Milford Social Services department, Jackson noted.

“We have been trying to fill those shoes, and while we were two key positions down I don’t believe we skipped a beat in response and meeting the needs of the community and those we serve,” Jackson said.

“We are also very fortunate,” she added, “to have Jennifer Faircloth — who previously held a part-time position at the senior center front desk — return to the team to help cover the Social Services main line.”

Jackson was at “the tail end of hiring a new social worker,” she also noted. “I hope to bring her to the next meeting and introduce you all to her.”

Jackson also offered an update on a patio that has been approved and is expected to be in place by the spring. Funding is through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), administered through the State, she reminded the commission.

“We do have to go through the Town’s Purchasing Agent due to the price tag of this project, so we’re working with her to put this out to bid,” she said. “We’re hoping to have bids in by the winter, when our landscapers are a little slower, so that the project can start right at the start of spring and we can then have a full spring and summer season with it.”

Behavioral Health Alliance

In late August a delegation from Newtown traveled to New Canaan to learn about that city’s Behavioral Health Alliance and telemedicine efforts in that community, Jackson then reported.

“We hope to look more into that telemedicine piece but right now, on the immediate radar, we’re learning a little bit more about the work that their alliance does,” she said. Jackson read the mission of New Canaan Behavioral Health Alliance, which “encourages, develops and supports a greater community awareness of behavioral health issues and resources … [with a mission] to improve access to behavioral health care for New Canaan residents seeking help.”

Newtown DHS is looking to establish a steering committee to explore forming a similar alliance in Newtown, Jackson said. New Canaan’s alliance includes Silver Hill Hospital, which focuses on psychiatric and addiction services, Jackson noted.

An alliance in Newtown would look different than New Canaan’s, she cautioned, “since we don’t have a hospital here that anchors on more of that assessment piece that that alliance works on, but I think it could be a very crucial piece to meeting overall mental health and urgent needs in the community.”

In response to a question from a commissioner, Jackson explained “behavioral health seems to be the new buzzword for mental health.” When another commissioner asked how the proposed alliance would interact with Newtown Prevention Council, or whether it even would interact with that already-established group, Jackson said all discussions are still very early, but she feels NPC is very focused on substance abuse.

“I don’t know if we’re able to merge in the behavioral health, so we have to figure out if that would look different, and how it would work,” she said.

Barbara Bloom said Newtown Parent Connection already has support groups in place for similar concerns, “and that would probably be a piece of” the new alliance, “I would think,” she said.

Jackson said NPC Founder Dorrie Carolan was part of the group that went to New Canaan, and is part of the initial discussions.

“She’s going to be a big part of the discussion, especially because she’s also a part of the Prevention Council,” Jackson added.

Funding for the alliance is still a big question mark, Jackson said.

“That’s all part of what needs to be discussed,” she said. “It’s very early days.”

Much of New Canaan’s funding, she explained, is through urgent mental health assessments to avoid trips to the hospital. That’s where Silver Hill is an important piece of the plan, she said. New Canaan does receive some Town and ARPA funding to cover the urgent assessments.

“Again, ours will look a little different though, based on our community and what our resources are,” Jackson said.

The recent trip to New Canaan was initiated by Friends of Newtown Seniors Founder and President John Boccuzzi, she added.

New Grant, Expanded Funding

Jackson also reported about a new grant received and the lifting of income restrictions for one-on-one tutoring services for Newtown students.

Working with Boccuzzi, Newtown DHS recently applied for and received a $5,000 grant from Western Connecticut Area Agency on Aging through the 2024 Older American Act. That grant will be combined with state funds and used toward senior physical activities, she said.

The senior center is in the process of bringing back Ageless Grace, and adding two more classes, which will have its Health & Wellness Room fully booked, Jackson said. The grant will also cover the purchase of yoga blocks and additional weights.

The income restriction has been raised for the $100,000 ARPA funds being directed to DHS for student tutoring, she said. The goal of the tutoring has been to address the learning gap due to the pandemic, and the lifting of the restrictions has led to 63 applications, she said.

Students and tutors have begun matching, and scheduling and sessions are underway, she said before offering “a huge thank you” to COA member Judit DeStefano “for her partnership and support of this program through her position with the Board of Education, and to Jennifer Faircloth for fielding the influx of calls.”

Old Business

Old business included further discussion and planning for a survey to be distributed via a local Facebook group to assess interest in UR Community Cares, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit designed to match vetted volunteers with those who need free at-home support such as household chores, yardwork, and companionship visits. UR Community Cares (pronounced “Your Community Cares”) Founder Michelle Puzzo spoke to the COA in July, introducing her organization and the possibility of a collaboration in Newtown.

DeStefano plans to use data from a survey done 18 months ago, keeping its presentation simple, she said.

Jackson will also provide data from a previous survey, she said.

Mary Salley, director of Nunnawauk Meadows, and Jackson both cautioned that despite “everything we could do to get the survey in front of everyone it applied to,” the response rate was very low to both previous surveys.

“I feel like we’re reaching people” who need some services, “but not everyone who needs them,” Bloom said.

Conversation steered toward the HART bus, with Jackson noting the regional service reported 900 rides in Newtown alone in August.

DeStefano said people aren’t using what is already available. LeReine Frampton said she used to drive for FISH, a volunteer program that provided rides to medical appointments, “but when that service stopped, people found their way to appointments.”

Following additional discussion, DeStefano agreed to have a survey ready to present to the commission for its November meeting. It will, she said, “encompass transportation and companionship, among other points.”

Before the meeting adjourned, commissioner Claire Theune urged her fellow COA members to remember to lock their homes and vehicles “all the time.

“Lock everything you can,” she said, sharing stories of three very recent attempted break-ins she had heard about from neighbors and friends. “We’re very forgetful and we need to be careful,” she said, which drew a laugh.

Bloom recalled the Triad program that used to be offered through the senior center. Triad created a partnership among law enforcement, senior citizens, and social service agencies.

“That was the kind of thing they would do, I believe: They would let the senior center know about new scams, and things to be aware of,” Bloom said.

Jackson mentioned upcoming programs already planned at the senior center, including visits from Newtown Emergency Communications Director Maureen Will and another guest who would be talking about frauds and scams over Bingo.

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