Town of Raymond officially accepted and joins the AARP Age Friendly Communities Network

After a successful presentation to the Raymond Board of Selectmen by resident Beth Clark, Raymond’s application has been officially accepted, and the town now joins the AARP Network of Age Friendly Communities.  

 

The group was notified on Thursday, November 9 by Lori Parham, AARP Maine State Director who said, “We look forward to working with Raymond and supporting the group’s efforts. It is exciting to see how much momentum they already have.”

The goal of the Age Friendly Community Initiative is to assess and then address the needs of an aging community. The group will begin planning the assessment process at its next meeting. The community assessment will include a survey, focus groups and door to door conversations with people of all ages in Raymond. AARP will be available to provide technical assistance. The group expects a thorough assessment process to take up to two years.

Laurie Wallace, an assessment team member said, “We appreciate the guidance from AARP and are learning from other communities who are currently engaged in the process. We are really looking forward to beginning this work.” Group members have attended a number of workshops to learn about the process.

In addition to working on the community assessment, each meeting includes an educational presentation. Last month the group learned about Qigong, a form of gentle exercise that helps build awareness of how the body moves through space, from Mary-Therese Duffy. 

At the next meeting on Wednesday, December 6 at 2 p.m., Rolph Olsen will talk about Medicare Open Enrollment. The meeting will take place at the Raymond Public Safety Building. Everyone is welcome. For more information contact Rep. Jessica Fay at 415-4218 or jess4maine@gmail.com.