The Londonderry Senior Resource Committee’s most recent meeting on Oct. 17 primarily served to focus on gain some input from local seniors on their current opinions about their community and how it could be improved.
To this end, two elements served as the major focus for the evening. First off, the committee hosted an open forum the following night in order to reach out to these various seniors who are not currently living in senior types of housing.
These efforts serve as a continuation of previous efforts over the past year or so where members of the committee went to the various retirement communities across Londonderry to speak one-on-one with seniors and understand what their top issues were across the board.
Members of the committee noted that their two major concerns over event were advertising to the community and when a good time would be to host it, with suggestions being made about trying for afternoons if the open forum was poorly attended.
The other outreach project that the committee had in mind concerned a series of packets that would be sent out elderly residents who just moved here as a means of welcoming them to Londonderry. The packets themselves would feature important information about the area and other important topic, including where to get their cars registered, which organizations they may be able to volunteer their services to and information about dogs and children in the area.
Town Manager Kevin Smith has already showed support for the project and would likely support the expense for printing out these packets. The committee approved the idea of moving forward with this project and will be discussing it further during their next meeting, delving into the specific ideas and contacts that could be featured within the packets.
The committee also began planning for a series of event that will be taking place within the next week or so. On Oct. 26, members of the committee will be holding a meeting in Bedford to discuss legal tools that older residents can use to maintain safe and affordable housing, eventually sharing this information with Londonderry residents.
On Nov. 1 will see the Londonderry YMCA holding a community forum at 5:30 p.m., which some members of the committee plan on attending.
Finally, the senior center will be holding a craft fair on Nov. 4, allowing Londonderry’s residents to showcase their various creative skills.