Waldo County
Waldo County, Maine is located in the rural mid-coast region of Maine in the Northeast corner of the United States. It occupies 853 square miles.
The County includes towns and their populations listed in the chart that follows. Note that Belfast is the County seat. (http://www.maine.gov/economist/state/census.html).
Aging Well in Waldo County
Starting in the summer of 2016, a group of interested persons began meeting to explore and discuss local issues related to aging. Various constituent groups were represented from Belfast and some of the other 25 towns outside Belfast in Waldo County. For example, the Waldo County General Hospital (WCGH), the Belfast city nurse, the 911 director, representatives from Senior College, Triad, the YMCA, and the City of Belfast began to hold regular meetings. Guest speakers from the Maine chapter of the American Association of Retired People (AARP Maine), other communities in the area, and people with relevant experience spoke to the emerging group. The name Aging Well in Waldo County (AWWC) was adopted, along with the commitment to treat all of Waldo County as the area to be covered by this initiative. The stated goals were to:
- Assess the strengths and needs of Waldo County for persons 50 and over;
- Seek “Age-Friendly” status from AARP; and
- Explore solutions to some of the challenges identified by the assessment process.
In short,
- Our greatest assets were identified as our libraries, our churches, and our YMCA.
- Our greatest needs were reported to be transportation, social isolation, and housing
The full report of the assessment of Waldo County Maine and the survey instrument are available here:
AWWC Assessment Report [PDF]
AWWC Assessment Process [PDF]
AWWC Board of Directors
Christopher Morin, M.D.,Vice-Chair
Jo-ann Morin, Treasurer
Connie Bellet, Artist, Newsletter
Margaret Campbell, Transportation
Michele Carrier-Clinch, Garden Helpers
Betty Johnson, Parliamentarian
Wendy C. Kasten, Ph.D., Newsletter
Kathleen Kearns, Technology, Webmaster
Donna M. Kelley, LCSW, Member At-Large
Janice V. Kristo, Ph.D., Editor, Village-Wise
Carol Kuhn, M.D., Social Isolation
Greg Morin, Member At-large
Deborah K. Shepherd, MSW, Social Isolation
Marje Stickler, LCSW, Publicity and Outreach
Jason Trundy, Waldo County Sheriff
Wanted:
WHO:
Persons age 50+
WHAT:
To join our AWWC Board or a committee representing their community,
To attend bi-monthly meetings,
To work with others to help address social isolation, housing and transportation in our county
WHY:
Because transportation, social isolation, and housing in Waldo County have been identified as critical need areas.