Town Spotlight: Norwell's Council on Aging

At Norwell’s recent State of the Town event, Council on Aging Director Susan Curtin offered a comprehensive update on the department’s programs, partnerships, and future plans — signaling its growing role in the community as the senior population increases.

According to the 2024 town census, Norwell has 11,443 residents, with 2,880 individuals over the age of 60.

“That is the population that we serve,” Curtin said. “For those of you who are not familiar, the Council on Aging is a human service agency that's embedded in municipal government. We provide services and programming for anybody over the age of 60, because at 60 you are considered a senior in Massachusetts.”

In the past year, the COA offered 510 unique programs, delivered over 1,800 times, serving more than 9,000 participants and 812 individual residents. Services included 2,100 transportation rides and support for 208 people in areas such as Medicare counseling and fuel assistance.

“Overall, we had 16,700 interactions with our community this past year,” she said. “We do that out of a tiny little building. We do it with a budget that represents a half a percent of the overall town's budget.”

Despite space and funding limitations, the COA brought in $140,000 in grants and benefited from the efforts of 51 volunteers — the equivalent of $35,000 in support.

Curtin emphasized the Council’s collaborative work with other departments and community groups, including schools, fire and police departments, the Garden Club, and the Women’s Club. These partnerships support both critical services and recreational programs.

“We had six concerts and we had a local bartending service come in and mix mocktails for us,” she said, describing the Music and Mocktails series held on the COA’s patio. “There was dancing, great music, all different genres, so that's a great time. We invite people to come and join us. Whether you're a senior or not, we would love to see you there.”

Another highlight was the classic car show, which she called “fabulous.”

“When they heard about it and they said, wait a second. I have a car I want to come. We'll bring that back this year,” she said.

On the services side, Curtin underscored efforts to support older adults financially and emotionally. This includes tax-relief programs like the Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit and the Senior Tax Work-Off Program, which allows seniors to exchange volunteer hours for a property tax reduction.

A major focus of the presentation was the Council’s work on dementia education, described by Curtin as one of its proudest achievements.

“We kicked off our Forget Me Not Memory Cafe back in July of 2023 and it was a grant funded program through the state,” she said. “Here we are 18 months later and we have served 110 individuals in that program.”

The program helps foster connection among individuals living with dementia and their caregivers.

“We have helped to create community for people who are isolated in their community, who have had people pull back from them,” Curtin said. “They are now finding community amongst each other, both in our center and outside.”

The Council has also been certified to run skills-based caregiver trainings and hosts a regular support group. Their dementia-friendly workshops have reached fire and police departments, businesses, and students.

In a notable expansion of its education efforts, the Council worked with the South Shore Vo-Tech’s Allied Health and Culinary students to provide dementia awareness training.

“We have challenged them in their restaurant to try and find ways to support neurodiverse communities,” Curtin said.

Looking ahead, Curtin said the Council is midway through a feasibility study for a future multigenerational community center in partnership with the town’s Recreation Department.

“This is a very beginning, preliminary process,” she explained. “This allows us to have an idea of where we may or may not have a space to go. It allows us to determine what the community interest in need is and to help guide our leadership in the future to determine where we should be and what should happen.”

Other upcoming efforts in 2025 include expanding mental health programming, launching a “solo aging” initiative for residents aging without family support, and hosting a retirement preparedness series that focuses on social and emotional aspects of aging.

“We are busy, small but mighty,” Curtin concluded. “Thank you very much.”

View the full video from Norwell SpotlightTV.

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