Sometimes the planets are in order.

David Brown moved to Harpswell with his wife Jane in 2009. He brought with him degrees from Harvard and Yale as well as several decades of teaching experience at Boston University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. During his career, he specialized in the management of non-profit institutions and developed a passion for helping organizations work together to build a civil society.

Jess Maurer, a Harpswell resident, has served as the Executive Director of the Maine Association of Area Agencies and Aging. She was the co-author of the current State Plan on Aging and a contributor to the State Plan on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias. Last year, she coauthored a report on Building Aging Friendly Communities. She is currently helping to launch the Maine Aging Initiative, an innovative, collaborative plan to address the complex issues facing Maine’s older adults.

David and Jess became acquainted as fellow followers of Buddhism. During a casual conversation, they decided that something should be done to help older adults age well in Harpswell, which includes Cundy’s Harbor, Orr’s Island, Bailey Island and Harpswell Neck. Harpswell is home to nearly 5,000 year-round residents, and with a median age of 56.9, it is the oldest Maine town with more than 3,000 residents. Incidentally, Maine is currently the oldest state in the nation with a median age of 44.1

Possessing the skills to launch an initiative to help Harpswell residents thrive while aging at home, the pair went right to work. After enlisting the support of Reverend John Carson of the Elijah Kellogg Congregational Church, they established Harpswell Aging at Home (HAH) in October 2014. They then included several community members and town officials in discussions about how to address the needs of older Harpswell residents.

In May 2015, HAH hosted a broader community conversation on the issue. That meeting generated significant enthusiasm for moving forward. In June 2015, they formed a 17-member Steering Committee to lead the efforts. In August 2015, they embarked on a survey to better understand what it’s like to age in Harpswell and what supports older people need to remain in Harpswell as they age. In October 2015, HAH received a grant from AARP Maine and hired consultants to create a demographic profile, analyze survey results and facilitate a series of focus groups aimed at better understanding areas of concern to aging residents.

In January 2016, HAH prepared a Community Assessment Report, which presented the findings of the survey and the focus groups. Interestingly, the two biggest needs of older citizens in Harpswell are home maintenance services (e.g. mowing, shoveling and raking) and home repair services (e.g. installation of grab bars, fixing roofs, painting, etc.), followed by chore services, transportation and home health care.

In April 2016, HAH developed an Action Plan. Progress already has been made on several fronts. For example, Harpswell now provides one-third of the drivers for the volunteer driving program of People Plus. Moreover, HAH is developing lists of people who can provide home maintenance services and home repair services, in some cases at no charge.

Throughout this process, David Brown, Jess Mauer and the Steering Committee (now divided into several subcommittees to address specific areas of need) have followed some core principles: 1. Fully engage all elements of the Harpswell community in planning and implementation (e.g. older citizens, town officials, fire and rescue services, health care providers, etc.); 2. Do not duplicate current services; rather, build partnerships with other agencies.

David Brown is very pleased with the rapid progress of Harpswell Aging at Home. He credits much of HAH’s early success to the longstanding neighbor-helping neighbor culture of the citizens of Harpswell.

Yes, sometimes the planets are in order.

Note: For further information, contact David Brown at (207) 725-5601 or at coveybrown. ldb@gmail.com, or Jess Maurer at (207) 332-1640 or chinooks@roadrunner.com.

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David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary or suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns at dtreadw575@aol.com