GREENFIELD — LifePath, a nonprofit that serves people with disabilities, the elderly and their caregivers in western and central Massachusetts, has awarded 17 grants totaling $48,852 to 16 organizations across Franklin County and the North Quabbin region.
These grants of up to $3,000 each were awarded to organizations that have projects in line with goals outlined in LifePath’s Age- and Dementia-Friendly Franklin County and North Quabbin Regional Action Plan. This is the second year that grants of this nature have been awarded by LifePath, and the effort is supported in part by a three-year, $190,000 award from the Point32Health Foundation.
“We are grateful to these organizations who have stepped forward to partner with us on making our community more age- and dementia-friendly, according to the goals set forth by residents,” LifePath’s Associate Executive Director Lynne Feldman said in a statement. “These initiatives are the culmination of deep work and commitment by residents, local organizations and our valued funders.”
Recipients of this year’s round of grants have put the money into creating more accessible outdoor spaces, expanding programs that strengthen digital literacy among the elderly, promoting dementia awareness and more. For the Franklin County Fairgrounds and Franklin County Agricultural Society President Mike Nelson, this means that Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant picnic tables have been installed at the fairgrounds on Wisdom Way.
“We received information about that grant coming out at a [Franklin County] Chamber of Commerce breakfast,” Nelson recounted. “We are always working toward adding new infrastructure that makes the fairgrounds a more inclusive and accessible space for all of our guests. We have done several projects over recent years toward that goal. One of them that was remaining on our list was to purchase some additional ADA-accessible picnic tables.”
These picnic tables were one of the last steps in making the fairgrounds as equitable and accessible as it can be, according to Nelson. He noted, however, that the property being 100% accessible would not be possible, due to the large horse track located within. However, the pavilions on the outside of the horse track meet that level of accessibility.
“By its nature, we’ll never be able to put pavement [on the track] to make it fully accessible because it has to remain the stone track in order for the horses to utilize it,” Nelson said. “But we have made every stride possible to accommodate everything where we can. … I would say we’re not at 100%, but we’re about as close as we’re ever going to be able to get in our lifetime.”
For the United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region, the $3,000 it received covered stipends for the people running a program that provides one-on-one technology assistance to folks living in rural areas who otherwise may not know how to use a computer, laptop, tablet or cellphone.
Called the Digital Navigation program, it has helped more than 1,000 people since its inception, according to Rich Vaden, digital navigator at United Way. Vaden, the only full-time digital navigator in Franklin County, said United Way has distributed about 600 devices across Franklin and Hampshire counties.
“The best way that I can talk about impact … is by just picking out a couple of stories that I have,” Vaden noted. “One individual came to me, and he had been out of the workforce for quite some time … but he barely knew how to use a computer and he was very intimidated by the computer itself. … I started him with basic computer literacy and being able to … navigate the internet, get his email set up. Then, we started looking at job portals.”
At the Greenfield Public Library, Director Anna Bognolo said its $3,000 grant is going toward the creation of memory kits. According to the American Library Association, memory kits are an assortment of items that are designed to “help people connect using conversation and storytelling about their interests.”
Bognolo said the library is making memory kits about a multitude of different events and experiences from the past, including the Franklin County Fair. These kits will be completed come September.
The remaining grant recipients and their funding uses are as follows:
- Athol Council on Aging ($3,000) — Expanding the congregate meal program to three days per week, increasing access to nutritious meals while creating additional opportunities for social connection and reducing isolation.
- Athol-Orange Community Television ($3,000) — Offering an oral historian training course for local students to document and preserve the stories of older adults, fostering intergenerational connection and community engagement.
- Athol Public Library ($2,850) — Creating an intergenerational Story Walk and related programming that supports people living with dementia and their caregivers, with shared experiences across ages.
- Greenfield Housing Authority ($2,810) — Providing digital learning workshops to help residents access health care, benefits and communication tools, increasing independence and digital inclusion.
- Greenfield Housing Authority ($2,960) — Offering dementia-friendly workshops that support memory, creativity and social engagement for residents living with cognitive changes.
- Franklin County’s YMCA ($3,000) — Delivering a virtual fitness and social connection program to improve health and reduce isolation among older adults and individuals with disabilities.
- Heath Council on Aging ($3,000) — Building an outdoor patio at the Jacobs Road Municipal Center to create a space for recreation, relaxation and social interaction.
- Shelburne Falls Senior Center ($1,900) — Enhancing caregiver support and Memory Café programming through expanded social engagement activities, entertainment and resources.
- Shutesbury Council on Aging ($2,832) — Installing emergency lock boxes that are accessible to first responders to improve safety and reduce the need for emergency entry to homes, supporting aging in place.
- Town of Ashfield ($3,000) — Purchasing a portable assistive listening system to increase accessibility and participation in civic meetings and community events.
- Town of Bernardston ($3,000) — Installing assistive listening equipment to improve accessibility and ensure more residents can fully participate.
- Town of Leyden ($3,000) — Expanding an accessible walking path to improve mobility and increase access to outdoor recreational spaces for people of all abilities.
- Town of Whately ($3,000) — Installing “Happy to Chat” benches to encourage spontaneous social interaction and reduce isolation in public spaces.
- Village Neighbors ($2,500) — Strengthening coordination of aging and dementia support services across four towns, improving connections between volunteers, responders and residents at risk of isolation.
