COA social workers help residents age in place

On any given afternoon, the Weston Community Center can be home to exercise classes, lectures and art making. On the ground floor, older adults come in for coffee and conversation in the community room of the Council on Aging (COA).

Linda Scott, who lives in retirement community Merriam Village, is one of several regular visitors to the COA.

“It’s a place to go and socialize with other people, they can get a cup of coffee and see the art, or go replenish their food,” she said. “All the activities are great and they vary.”

The Council on Aging is more than a social setting. The organization provides assistance in many ways to Weston’s older adults and their caregivers. Scott first got involved in the COA through one of these programs – the food pantry. She began volunteering with her neighbors to help organize the room of shelf stable foods, hygiene products and other items people might need.

“People should know there is a food pantry there,” Scott said. “Nobody checks on anything, you just go and take whatever you want.”

The organization also employs two licensed social workers, Clarabelle Valcin and Marissa Zwelling, to assist aging adults with myriad situations, including filing applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and arranging house management. Zwelling said it is important to consider how a home may need to change to serve its residents as they change with age.

“The term is ‘Peter Pan’ because the house doesn’t grow with you,” Zwelling said. “Stairs can keep you healthy, but you have to be safe as well…[We] have been asked on many occasions to do a safety check at someone’s house, or to talk about what it would look like to have a stair lift put on their stairs.”

The most common needs change throughout the year. During the winter, people need help finding snow removal services or filing for fuel assistance. Valcin and Zwelling do whatever they can to help residents maintain independence. The COA also has a closet of durable medical equipment, including canes and walkers for people to borrow to improve their day-to-day lives.

Staying social is also an important part of healthy aging, according to Zwelling. The COA hosts a number of events and trips throughout the year. It also hosts regular meetings of men’s and women’s groups, as well as a Memory Cafe, which provides a space for people with memory issues and their caregivers to socialize. The space is also open for people who want to drop in and talk with each other.

The COA also provides transportation, and will take residents anywhere within its travel radius if given advance notice. Scott is already a fan of the service, although she hasn’t started using it yet.

“Just having the transportation for people who don’t drive anymore, to take them to doctor appointments or shopping is great,” she said. “I still drive, but I’m looking forward to taking advantage of it in the future.”

According to both Valcin and Zwelling, one of the largest barriers to helping residents is the stigma that surrounds aging. Many people feel they are too young or independent to seek support from the COA.

“We have to keep on trying to get rid of that stigma of being an older adult,” Valcin said. “That’s literally the thing affecting every council on aging.”

The COA sends out a newsletter to Weston residents over the age of 60. Other town agencies point residents toward the COA for assistance. Valcin said they also get referrals from community members concerned about their neighbors.

The stigma of aging is compounded by the taboo of talking to social workers.

“There tends to be a negative connotation that we’re going to report something,” Zwelling said. “But that’s not what [we’re here to do].”

The fact that the space is open throughout the week and hosts fun events means people can meet with Zwelling and Valcin on their own terms in a social situation and develop a relationship before there is a sudden or urgent need for help.

“We’re just here to help,” Valcin said. “We will never go faster than the person. We’ll sit with them, ask what their goals are, what they need. We’re not trying to assume anything.”

Valcin emphasized aging is a natural process and that there is no shame in needing help when transitioning to a new chapter in life.

“The work that the Council on Aging does is really important because people are aging,” Valcin said. “That’s the most beautiful thing we all hope to experience. Being able to have councils on aging and having social workers…focus on what this community needs is so [important].”