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Commission studying services for older Rhode Islanders to travel to South Kingstown Friday

 

STATE HOUSE – The House commission studying services and programs for older adults in Rhode Island, led by Rep. Lauren H. Carson, will meet in South Kingstown Friday to give locals an update on its efforts and talk about transportation services for older Rhode Islanders.

The meeting, which is open to all members of the public, will take place Friday, Oct. 18, from 10 a.m. to noon at the South Kingstown Senior Center, 25 St. Dominic Road, Wakefield.

The Special Legislative Commission to Study and Provide Recommendations Pertaining to Services and Coordination of State Programs Relating to Older Adult Rhode Islanders has been meeting since last fall to study the state’s resources and services for older adults and ways to improve them as the population of older Rhode Islanders increases. Currently, more than 240,000 Rhode Islanders are age 60 or older. That number is expected to increase to almost 265,000 by 2040.

At the South Kingstown meeting, the commission will present an overview of its activities and discuss transportation options. There will be presentations by commission member James Burke Connell from Age-Friendly RI, Southern Rhode Island Volunteers and one on the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s RIDE and Flex programs. Public comment will be accepted at this meeting, subject to the meeting’s time limitations.

The meeting will be televised on Capitol Television, which can be seen on Cox channel 61, on i3Broadband channel 15 and on Verizon channel 34. It will be live streamed at capitoltvri.cablecast.tv.

“It’s very clear that the population of older Rhode Islanders is increasing rapidly, and we need to make sure our state has the services and resources ready to meet its needs effectively and efficiently. I’m excited to bring our commission around the state to talk about what we’ve determined so far, and to hear from the public, especially seniors, about what they believe would be most valuable in the future,” said Representative Carson (D-Dist. 75, Newport).

This is the final of three on-location public meetings the commission is holding; one was held in Newport in July, and the other was in Warwick last month.

Besides Chairwoman Carson, who sponsored the legislation creating the commission (2023-H 5224A), the commission includes Rep. Thomas E. Noret (D-Dist. 25, Coventry, West Warwick), Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung (R-Dist. 15, Cranston), Office of Healthy Aging Director Maria E. Cimini, Nancy Sutton of the Department of Health, AARP Rhode Island State Director Catherine Taylor, Edward King House Executive Director Carmela A. Geer, Warwick Senior Services Director Meg Underwood, Coventry Human Services Director Robert Robillard Jr., Paul Salera of the Rhode Island RI Association of Community Action Agencies, Paula McFarland of the Rhode Island Long Term Care Coordinating Council, James Burke Connell of Age-Friendly RI, Carol Anne Costa of the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island, Robert Marshall of the Rhode Island Developmental Disabilities Council, former AARP RI Director Kathleen Connell and Maureen Maigret, chairwoman of the Aging in Community Subcommittee of the state’s Long Term Care Coordinating Council.

The commission is studying key statistics about services for older adults in Rhode Island, examining strengths, vulnerabilities, and demographic and financial statistics; assess the current state, federal and local services currently available, as well as any duplication of services; recommend ways to coordinate services within agencies and focus on better service delivery, including housing options and various living arrangements, health status and health care resources; provide recommendations for the creation of a portal to coordinate aging services in employment, education, independent living, accessibility and advocacy, as well as local older adult centers and services;  provide recommendations on mental health, transportation, food access, and health care; provide recommendations for the funding of services through state, federal and private grants and for more efficient distribution and use of these dollars; and explore more regionalization of services.

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