It is a cold, sunny day, perhaps one of the last chances for elderly residents to emerge from their nest at the Island Commons before the coming winter. They shuffle into the Chebeague community hall with their coats and canes, appetites spiked for the monthly senior luncheon.
The kitchen bustles with activity as ladies wearing green volunteer aprons pile plates with creamy mashed potatoes, green beans, and ham.
“We never use our fingers,” jokes Susan Stavropoulos, a local Chebeague resident. She tears apart pieces of meat and distributes them to people who come to the kitchen window for second helpings.
Many of the volunteers at the lunch, such as Sandra Rice, are children of Island Commons residents. Sandra and her husband moved back to Chebeague from Boston, after Sandra’s mother, Ellie, 91, moved from her island home into the Island Commons.
“She has her home and we have ours. We get to see her whenever we want and she knows everyone at the commons,” Sandra says, making her way around the tables to distribute bread pudding. “It sure beats a retirement home!”
“I’m too old to take care of my old house,” Ellie says. “But I don’t have to worry. Somebody’s going to take care of me.”
Islands communities who can actually care of their elderly residents is not typical. But, in 1995, the Island Commons Resource Center started a movement for the Island Commons, and in 1998, the assisted living home on Chebeague Island opened its doors. The commons currently houses seven residents, six of whom are Chebeague natives.
Other islands in Maine, such as Vinalhaven, saw the Island Commons’ effectiveness and had a desire to replicate the same type of establishment for their island’s elderly residents.
“The Island Commons started up with a grass roots movement,” said Leanne Krudner, public relations manager for the Island Commons. “There was a group of people who didn’t want to see people leave and go to the mainland. We call it the ‘Age and Place’ philosophy, allowing people to come here and stay until they need hospice.”
Pommy Hatfield moved to Chebeague permanently in 1990. Having a lot of elderly friends, she wondered what they planned to do once they were old to care for themselves. “I saw a screaming need for the kinds of services and contacts that are not ‘medical,” Hatfield said. “They are social needs, compassionate and observant companionship, that kind of thing.”
Hatfield was shocked to find that the islands were denied the same kind of access to homecare and supportive services as people on the mainland, so she got together with a friend, bought a book, and started a non-profit. “I had never done that kind of thing before,” she said. “I’m not a born leader, but I guess I was for this project.”
Hatfield conducted a survey on Chebeague, asking residents about their needs and future plans. She found many people who were afraid they’d have to leave the island. “We identified the need and were actually given an old farmhouse. We got money from a community development block grand from Cumberland, a huge grant from Maine Housing [Maine State Housing Authority], and we got MaineCare Certification. The funders were impressed that we wanted to be debt-free.”
“People on Vinalhaven asked us how we fundraised, how we structured our employees, etc.,” Hatfield said. “Even people from Block Island, as well as some islands in Oregon, called to ask us what we did. These islands are very different from us, but having us there and able to collaborate on different issues was really good.”
The Ivan Calderwood Home on Vinalhaven opened in 2001, and has been successful ever since-with currently eight residents and 14 people on the waiting list. Located on Beaver Dam Road, not far from Main Street, one could walk to the ferry landing in about 10 minutes.
Linda Lynch is an elder care provider at the home. “Unlike Chebeague, our on-site volunteer list is low,” she said. “But we receive $50,000-60,000 a year in fundraisers from island community summer residents, and $12,000 a year from other fundraising projects.
“I really think it’s made a lot of difference since it’s opened,” Lynch says, “because there are a lot of people who would have had to go to a nursing home off-island, but now they don’t have to.”
The Ivan Calderwood home is the second-largest employer on the island with eight full-time employees, and like the Island Commons on Chebeague, it provides a list of daily activities for the residents, medic alert systems, and rides to appointments.
“Other islands could create communities like these,” Pommy said. “But they first have to identify a need-make sure a home is even necessary. People aren’t standing at the doors with their toothbrushes ready to move in. It doesn’t work that way.”
Pommy suggests putting the idea out into the community to let them be a part of the process. “You have to find support, and you can’t make it effective without listening to all sides,” she said.
Despite that, the Island Commons is the largest year-round employer on the island, with 12 full and part-time employees who receive full benefits, Pommy feels one of the challenges is staffing. “Not everybody is a caregiver,” she said. “It’s easy to get burnt out.”
Back at the commons after the senior lunch, residents return to their crossword puzzles and knitting projects. Leanne places brightly colored straws into the afternoon “cocktails” of Gatorade and water and personally delivers them throughout the house.
“I like to make them special drinks in the afternoon,” she says, smiling.
Leanne is one staff member who certainly doesn’t act burnt out. Her bright and friendly personality keeps the residents in high spirits, helping the commons to feel more like a home than a care center.
“This is the way it should be,” Leanne says. “You should have people coming in every day with grandkids, people who come and do crafts, sing, neighbors who drop in to say “hi.” Chebeague attracts a certain type of person who is looking for community.”
Rachel Hurn is a former student at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland.