Community Reflections: Aging in Place Cumberland to Cumberland 55+
Karen Campbell

In Karen's words: 

Aging in Place Cumberland, now known as Active Living 55+, was first conceived of in 2014 when then-Town Councilor Tom Gruber heard Patricia Oh speak about age-friendly, lifelong communities. 

Tom became the driving force behind the creation of the Cumberland age-friendly committee, getting the Town Council and Town Manager to appreciate the value of beginning such a program, as well as securing funding for the initial start-up.   

This municipal funding paid for a part-time coordinator from the Southern Maine Agency on Aging (SMAA), as well as allotting some funding to pay for AIP expenses such as flyers, brochures, food costs for the Forum on Aging and monthly Tea Talks, volunteer software, as well as other incidental expenses. 

The town conducted surveys in late 2014 and used those results to write their plan and create programs. This was key to its success, I think. The survey gave the program credibility from day one, and brought in new volunteers, who were interested in seeing the programs come to fruition. The town also hired Sue Gold as the AIP Coordinator.   

Meanwhile, Tom Gruber continued recruiting volunteers. He was instrumental in getting the 2 local churches involved and representation from both the fire department and the police department. I was included as a representative of the Board of Directors for MSAD51, and students and many community volunteers who had interests in specific ideas were also asked to join.   

It’s my recollection that Tom also frequently spoke with Patricia looking for ideas of who to add to the committee, discussing the survey and then, later, its results, and gathering from her what other communities were doing so as not to reinvent the wheel. 

The outcome of all this activity was exciting. One church, who already had a modest rides program, stepped up to provide the insurance for the CAR (Cumberland Area Rides) program that was begun, the two churches agreed to host a monthly Tea Talk series and a wonderful volunteer stepped up to find the speakers, coordinate food, and “host” the talks each month.  Other programs benefitted from these energetic new volunteers: the Fire Department Durable Medical Supplies closet, the Handy Helper program, the annual Forum on Aging, and the creation of a local vendor guide. 

Tom also regularly met with other communities both to learn about what they might be doing and to share all that Cumberland was doing. His enthusiasm for lifelong programs was contagious!  

My biggest reflections on the continued success of Cumberland’s lifelong communities program are:

• One person CAN ABSOLUTELY make a difference.  Without Tom’s interest and dedication to lifelong communities, Active Living 55+ may not even exist.   

• Surveying the community and building the plan around those results was key.  

• Flexibility and creativity was needed to keep evolving.  Some programs were a “one and done”, while others still exist today, but with some tweaks.  

• Having metrics is important for continued funding - metrics also helped forge new partnerships because we could show partners that the program was positively impacting community members and beyond.  

• Having the commitment and support of the Town Council in the early days was also key as the Aging in Place Coordinator helped to draft flyers and tri-folds, helped with communications such as agendas and minutes, and helped keep all the various sub-committees engaged with the group as a whole. The Town’s willingness to commit to that position for a few years really gave the volunteers the support they needed to do the work and ultimately the committee’s work grew into a full-time position for Devon - such a win/win.