Blue Hill is one of the 9 towns in the regional age-friendly initiative called Age-Friendly Coastal Communities (AFCC).  AFCC is a collaboration among the 9 towns of the Blue Hill Peninsula (Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Castine, Penobscot, Sedgwick, Surry) and Deer Isle (Deer Isle and Stonington), in the state of Maine in the United States.  AFCC also includes many of the health care, social service, and community-based organizations that serve this area.  The goal of the age-friendly collaboration is to support livable communities, which are communities that enhance personal independence, allow people to remain in their homes and communities as they age; and foster engagement in the community’s civic, economic, and social life. AFCC is coordinated by Healthy Peninsula, a community health agency with many years experience convening and coordinating complex community collaborations.  Healthy Peninsula’s Healthy Aging Program Coordinator is the contact for all town members of AFCC.

Please see the Work Plans for Year 1 and Year 2 of our Thriving in Place Downeast Collaboration. This work will be the foundation on which we hope to build deeper and more extensive supports for an age-friendly community. The TiPD initiative is focused on the 9 towns of the Blue Hill Peninsula and Deer Isle/Stonington. Blue Hill is the largest town in this region and, as such, an appropriate place to begin our effort to bring the entire region into the Age-Friendly Network. The Blue Hill Selectboard recognizes the town’s role as a hub for medical, social service, and community resources that serve the entire region and, as such, as a leader in working collaboratively towards age-friendly initiatives that benefit our growing senior population. As a member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, we will revisit the community interviews and focus groups that informed the planning for our TiP grant, evaluating our successes and developing strategies for filling additional or continuing gaps in our community’s needs. We hope to expand our collaborative partners to include not only the town government but also emergency responders, faith communities, and others.