Helping hands

Sometimes an elderly person doesn’t need a nursing home – just someone to help with getting groceries or to go to a medical appointment.

Those are the unique and specialized services the Coastal Neighbors Network provides to residents of Dartmouth and Westport. The goal, Executive Director Andy Pollock explained, is to help people in the aging community (ages 50 and up) stay at home. The network consists of volunteers who provide services that range from small tasks around the house to transportation to social connections, visits, and special events. Launched in 2017, the network is now up to 120 “members” and a total of 80 local volunteers serving them. This service staff ranges in age from their 50s to their 90s and are fully vetted and CORI-checked to make sure they are all trustworthy and each member being assisted is safe. Members are charged a small fee, which Pollock said helps pay for insurance and administration. But people under a prescribed income level only pay $165 a year. The cost for any other individual is $660 for the year, but no additional costs

are charged for any services after that. “It’s quite affordable considering the amount of services you get,” Pollock said. He offers anecdotes galore on how well the service works. One 80-year-old Westport woman has a Network volunteer MiChael J. close to her age simply spend quality time deCiCCo with her once a week. One fellow with a serious disability gets help weeding his garden. The UMass Dartmouth Nursing Program students visit Network members for medical checkups. Sometimes it’s their first time putting their training into in-home practice, Pollock said. “It works out well,” he said. The remarkable side-benefit of Coastal Neighbors Network’s services, according to Pollock, is that the volunteers and the members who are being served bond with each other. “Some volunteers say the member gets to feel like their grandparent,” he said.

soCial NetWorkiNg

Stuart Brown agrees. He too likes the connection his volunteer work creates between him and the members. The 63-year-old retiree started as a

“What’s far more rewarding is the relationships that develop. These are interesting people to know – fascinating, wonderful people.”

volunteer at the Coastal Neighbors Network two years ago. Three months ago, he became chair of the Volunteer Committee. He recalls that on one recent morning he helped an elderly Dartmouth woman he’s known for two years with simple chores around her house. In other parts of that week, he transported a woman to her kidney dialysis treatments in Dartmouth on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, then three hours later took her home. Brown said one of the most unusual requests he’s received would have to be the time there was a large ugly rock on a member’s property. Brown fulfilled that man’s request to cover the rock’s ugliness by painting the house’s address number on it.

“Our primary purpose is to help them in their home,” he said. “From painting a rock to medical appointments and everything in between.” He’s very clear about the reasons he does it: “To give back, and because I love what the network does.” He added, however, “What’s far more rewarding is the relationships that develop. These are interesting people to know – fascinating, wonderful people.” There’s something else he enjoys about working for the network. “I get back more than I give,” he said. “It’s absolutely very fulfilling. The work we do, it’s very powerful.” The Coastal Neighbors Network is part of a nationwide network with similar goals, “The Village To Village Network.” The village movement started in Massachusetts 20 years ago with a group in Beacon Hill forming the first prototype. A local woman, Kate Fentress, founded the Dartmouth-Westport area network group after seeing how much it might be needed here, Pollock said. The local board formed in 2015; the network itself in 2017. “This is part of a larger network,” Brown said. “To be able to expand it further is something we will keep working on, and it’s important work to do.” For more informations visit coastalneighborsnetwork.org

“Our primary purpose is to help them in their home”

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