PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Aroostook Agency on Aging celebrated its new Aging and Disability Resource Center at an open house event held Friday, June 14.
The Agency, established in 1973, has worked out of various facilities in Presque Isle over the last few decades. They previously were located beneath the Aroostook Mental Health Center building on Edgemont Drive.
The new center on Main Street will be able to accommodate patients better, according to Executive Director Joy Barresi Saucier.
Since relocating in January, Barresi Saucier said the Agency has observed an increase in the number of walk-ins at the new building compared with their older facility. The new location encourages people to stop by and visit to learn about what kinds of services and resources are available to them and their loved ones.
“We wanted to create an atmosphere where people could come and visit,” said Barresi Saucier.
The Agency provides a wide-range of services for both elderly people and their caregivers, said Barresi Saucier. They offer anything between Tai Chi classes and Medicare 101, which helps elderly people find what healthcare plan works best for them.
The Presque Isle Chamber of Commerce provided supplies for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The Rev. Dr. Kenneth Phelps, the chairman of the board, welcomed the clients of the Agency and their families to the open house and spoke to the audience about the services the business offers.
“Giving a Baptist preacher time to talk is a dangerous thing,” Phelps began. He shared stories of the Agency workers and volunteers who answer a call to serve their communities by getting involved with the various programs.
“Serving others — especially elder persons, is at the heart of many different faith traditions,” Phels said. He said their mission is to provide necessary services to the people of Aroostook County. Whether that be helping elderly people remain independent, offering social programs where they can engage with others, or bringing food to the homes of those in need, the Agency “makes a difference in the lives of elderly people,” said Phelps.
According to Barresi Saucier, the Agency has a network of about 450 volunteers within the RSVP Aroostook Program which provides both in-home and other services to clients all over the County. She said the Agency itself directly served more than 5,000 people in the area over the last year. A few board members spoke to the audience about the successes of the various programs within the Agency.
Don Raymond, a member of the board, said of the nutritional program, “Nearly 2 out of ten older Aroostook County residents benefit from the Agency’s nutritional programs.” These services Raymond referred to include Meals on Wheels, the USDA Food Box program, as well as Community Dining programs.
Like others in the county, Durward Huffman was a recipient of the Agency’s programs.
When Huffman’s first wife began struggling with memory deficiencies in the late 1990s, he turned to the Agency for help. He said the program helped he and his wife, Lillian, throughout her memory loss and guided them through the process of moving her into a retirement home later on.
Years later, when Huffman was presented with an opportunity to join the board of directors, he couldn’t refuse. He currently serves as the treasurer, a position he’s held for the last eight years.
“I’ve been pleased to serve and help others,” he said. “The Agency is fulfilling a very important need.”
