Committed To Becoming More Age-Friendly
Bar Harbor, Maine United States of America
The plan of the Bar Harbor Task Force on Aging is to assess/survey the community to better understand and determine the unmet needs of the community. Currently, there are no community policies in place. There are many programs and services existing within the 8 domains of Livability targeted to the senior population. They are: Outdoor Spaces – the majestic Acadia National Park and other natural/public parks, venues; Transportation – Free transportation options are available through Island Connections and the Island Explorer*(*during the tourist season). At Home MDI is a paid option with a sliding scale transportation program. Overall, there is limited public transportation; Housing – Currently there are 3 public subsidized housing structures available to seniors through the MDI/Ellsworth Housing Authority. Housing is also available at the Birch Bay Village Retirement Community; Social Participation and Respect & Inclusion – Social participation venues include the Abbe Museum, Acadia Senior College, Adult Education, College of the Atlantic, Criterion Theatre, Jesup Library, Art Waves, MDI YMCA, YWCA MDI, Senior Coffee’s On at the Maine Seacoast Mission; Reel Pizza’s offering of Senior Matinee’s and events sponsored by local churches; Civic Participation and Employment – There are employment opportunities predominantly in the height of the tourist season while there are numerous volunteer opportunities year round; Communication and Information – The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, MDIslander and the Jesup Library are great resources for this purpose; Community and Health Services – There are a variety of healthcare providers both traditional and non-traditional, Healthy Acadia a community agency dedicated to building healthy communities and an active food pantry for those community members living with food insecurity.