Age-friendly bowdoinham, maine

“We started to realize how hard it was becoming to get people to show up for social events. Some older residents were choosing to give up their keys while others who really needed to do so

were still driving,” Oh explains. “Getting around was a challenge for all of them as Bowdoinham doesn’t have public transportation. When the program started, it was mainly so residents could

participate in social events or do some errands.”  The original Rides in Neighbors Cars pitch:_ "‘If you want to go meet your friends for a cup of coffee, or if you want to take your

cat or dog to the vet, or if you need a haircut, or shopping, we'll give you a ride.’ _It was very much a neighbor-helping-neighbor approach.” The program soon transitioned into meeting

medical-visit requests, some of which were quite complicated. Mosher recalls a man who needed a round-trip ride to dialysis on Saturdays, which necessitated two volunteers, one to drive the

rider to the hospital and one to pick him up. Extra care during the ride home was needed due to his weakened condition. For some residents, Rides in Neighbors Cars has enabled them to

remain in Bowdoinham. “We have a man in town with significant vision problems. He couldn't continue to live in town if he didn't have the service,” says Oh. “We've also had

folks who needed rides to cancer treatments. Family members can't always provide those rides all the time.” Mosher adds that “the work is very rewarding and fulfilling. And by speaking

with the drivers, the riders feel less isolated.” HANDY HOUSEHOLD TOOLS In 2015, AARP Livable Communities published an article about Bowdoinham’s tool table, a specially-designed display

exhibiting household, personal care and automotive gadgets, utensils and hardware that can make tasks of daily living easier for older adults.  Included were a one-touch can opener, a

talking clock and no-tie elastic shoe laces. Oh helped create the initiative, which has since added more tools and users. “The tool table is now on regular display at the Bowdoinham Public

Library, even during COVID, for residents to learn about and borrow tools for up to three weeks," says Oh. “We've inspired several neighboring communities to create their own tool

tables." New tools are added in response to the community’s needs. For instance, a woman with difficulty hearing had a fire in her home and couldn’t hear the smoke alarm. “Fortunately,

neighbors saw smoke and called the fire department,” Oh says. “We’ve since invested in all kinds of fire alert devices that can help a person who is hard of hearing. Sometimes we just don’t

know what we need until somebody needs it.” WHEN SMALL IS BIG Patricia Oh cites instances when Bowdoinham's Advisory Committee on Aging advocated for seemingly “small things” that are

anything _but _small to the residents who need them. _“People in rural communities don’t ask for the Taj Mahal. They ask for things that help everybody be as actively engaged as possible in

the community so everybody feels valued and wanted.”  _— Patricia Oh For example, at the post office, drivers had to get out of their cars to drop letters in the mailbox. The committee

successfully advocated turning the mailbox around so drivers could remain in their cars when dropping mail in the slot. The same thing occurred at the library book drop, which was located at

the top of a set of stairs. “Wouldn’t it be lovely if the drop box was at the bottom?” residents often commented. The committee took the request to the town manager, who presented it to the

community’s select board. The request was green-lighted. For many years, the parking area at the Celebrate Bowdoinham festival was located on the opposite side of a fairly busy road. The

ACOA successfully advocated for a drop off in front of the event, as well as placing chairs to be placed there for people to use while waiting for a ride. “The ACOA listens to the concerns

that come directly from citizens,” says Oh, who tells the story of a balance class hosted in the town office building. An accessibility audit of the building identified obstacles, including

a cluttered hallway, a doorbell that didn’t work and a burned out lightbulb. “These were not big things. People in rural communities don’t ask for the Taj Mahal,” says Oh. “They ask for

things that help everybody be as actively engaged as possible in the community so everybody feels valued and wanted.” Oh adds that “the Bowdoinham town manager said everyone in town thought

he walked on water when he assigned the Public Works Department to add a railing in the middle of the stairs to the library and bring the book return box down to ground level. Small changes

make a huge impact and build trust with the community that age-friendly efforts benefit everyone. Without those small changes, the community can't trust us to make bigger changes.”

LESSONS LEARNED (AND ADVICE FOR OTHERS) Patricia Oh offers up the following recommendations: BE INCLUSIVE “Always be mindful of people with different ability levels. You don’t want an

initiative that is focused on only the oldest people or one only geared to people who are climbing mountains every week. You have to find that sweet spot where you’re meeting the levels of

ability of people as they age. This also pertains to inclusivity in inviting representatives from all facets of the community so you have people of different races, economic and educational

levels, sexual orientations, religions and physical abilities.” LISTEN TO YOUR COMMUNITY “You are never going to have an initiative that will take off in the community if you don’t listen to

what your community _wants_ and _how_ it prefers changes to be made. For example, my community wants changes to be made in very small steps. Don’t rush things. That may mean it will take 20

years to get a stoplight!” START LOCAL “Connect with as many services and businesses and even tiny social clubs as possible, but start local. We quickly turned down help from groups and

providers that were regional. We really wanted that local context. A regional representative doesn’t understand how our community wants a change to be made. Build the strong local base, and

only then reach out to regional providers who may have funding or other assistance they can offer to support the local work.” EXPECT AND ADDRESS CHALLENGES “The biggest challenge is when

there is a change in administration. Our age-friendly work is an all-volunteer effort, and whenever you have volunteers, there are going to be changes. So you have a leader who gets things

started, but then there’s a rotation of people on the committee and now no one has that historical knowledge. “An ongoing problem small rural communities in Maine and everywhere face is the

lack of high-speed internet. We faced that when trying to get the word out about the Wellness Fair. So many people we’ve wanted to reach don’t have internet service or computers or a cell

phone.  Sometimes publicity is our biggest challenge. “A situation common to small, rural towns throughout Maine is that anyone not born and bred in the state is said to come_ _'from

away.' In the 1970s, several people from out of state moved to Maine and began a new life here as homesteaders, or ‘Back to Earthers' or 'Back to Landers.’ This was a

challenge to the old-timers, the people who grew up here and lived here 40 or 50 years. There was a lot of mistrust because the initiative had been started by people who came from away.

Decades later they’re still considered from away. But this community wouldn’t be what it is without those people. "Always remember that communities have people of different economic

levels, educational levels and types of experience. That’s a big challenge for a rural community. That’s where the cities have us beat. People in cities think about diversity. Rural

communities don’t think about it as much.” RELATED LINKS _Reporting by Amy Lennard Goehner_