By DEVIN ANKENEY
Aug 9, 2024
Neighborhood Falmouth is becoming more visible to Falmouth residents who might want its services. Since May, the nonprofit organization that aims to keep older residents independent and happy has been operating out of a new office on Palmer Avenue.
The organization’s office was previously on the second floor of the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce on Academy Lane. Candice A. Geers, executive director of Neighborhood Falmouth, said that location, while hospitable, was not ideal for providing the services seniors in need are seeking.
“The fact of the matter was, our visibility was nil,” Ms. Geers said. “Nobody knew where we were.”
Ms. Geers said the new office, at 115 Palmer Avenue Unit 2A, is more than double the size of the former space. It is next to Howlingbird and the parking lot shared with Corner Cycle. She said the new location and visibility along a popular road will allow for much easier access to the office than ever before.
That, and the fact that there are no more steep stairs that residents need to ascend to reach the office.
“Nobody was coming,” Ms. Geers said of the previous location. “[Now,] if members come and they’re a little bit more frail, they can park in the [disabled] spot right here and it’s five steps into the door.”
Neighborhood Falmouth aims to help older residents age comfortably. Its roughly 150 volunteers aid its 140 members in tasks ranging from having simple conversation to grocery shopping to acting as a second set of ears at a doctor appointment.
Mostly, the organization handles transportation requests. Seniors who cannot or do not drive anymore frequently need help getting from place to place, and taxi services like Uber are expensive. Ms. Geers said the rides and other services a member uses total in a value promised to be at least four times the membership fees—which are $600 yearly or $50 monthly.
She also said those fees do not apply to those unable to afford them, and that nobody will be turned away due to inability to pay.
She said the nonprofit hopes to combat loneliness and ensure that people’s social connections are maintained.
“A lot of times we are one of few people [a member] may see all week,” Ms. Geers said.
In addition to services between volunteers and members, Neighborhood Falmouth conducts outreach via presentations and events held at the Falmouth Public Library. Ms. Geers said the goal is not just to serve members, but to serve the community broadly.
She said community engagement and outreach is important to keeping Falmouth well-suited for older residents as they age. Ms. Geers said Neighborhood Falmouth has to be more all-encompassing than a simple service.
“It’s not just grab bars in the bathroom,” she said.
Now in its 16th year of operation, Neighborhood Falmouth is in need of volunteers.
Ms. Geers said there are currently 55 people on its waitlist waiting to join. It takes between nine and 12 months to make it off that list, Ms. Geers said, noting she recently fielded a request to join from an 89-year-old resident who started crying on the phone when told how long it could take to become a member, because she did not know what else to do.
“I try to provide alternatives; I try to connect them with additional services,” Ms. Geers said. “But, nobody else is doing this.”
The group works with its “fiercely independent” members to keep them in the homes in which they are currently living, Ms. Geers said. For some, it is where they raised their children or grew up themselves. But, to do that, the organization needs more hands to keep things running—and to keep dues from increasing.
Ms. Geers hopes people will continue to stop in and find the new space. She wants it to be a community space, rather than a utility that nobody uses. She said people have been stopping by most days the office and organization is open. People like Frank Kauffman, a resident and volunteer who walked in for the first time and touted the “great space.”
Neighborhood Falmouth is planning an open house for the fall to show members and volunteers the new office space, hoping to spur its use as a center for people to use. Ms. Geers said she plans to put a bench and a free miniature library outside the building to make it even more inviting.
The organization, which features real-time responses to requests by members in need on its website, is generally open during the normal business hours of 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday.
Comments