The Commission on Aging (COA) talked about updates regarding the transportation program and efforts to keep Newtown’s status as an AARP Livable Community at its Monday, July 21 meeting.

Director of Human Services Natalie Griffith started her report by delivering an update on their transportation program.

She said there have been several exciting developments since the commission’s last meeting on June 16, when Transportation Coordinator Jennifer Faircloth shared her progress in designing a local transportation program.

Griffith shared they have two per diem drivers “at the very tail end” of completing the hiring process with them. She said they are just waiting for some screenings to come back, but then Human Services will be able to schedule them to drive.

Human Services also has a third driver, who is currently working on getting the endorsement needed to drive the van used for the program.

Griffith said Faircloth went through the process to get the passenger endorsement herself, and can now drive the bus used for the program as well.

The tricky part with getting drivers set up through Human Services is that it is “such a per diem role,” according to Griffith.

She continued, “We really don’t know what the need is going to be until we know, so we want to have a few folks in the hopper so that the availability of what we’re looking at ... really varies.”

Griffith shared they purchased the software that will be used to manage the program. The program will be through MySeniorCenter, a database program used by Newtown Senior Center and other senior centers across the United States.

MySeniorCenter has recently created a rides component for its platform, according to Griffith.

“It’s really phenomenal,” Griffith said.

She continued by saying Human Services will have its kickoff training meeting on the software next week. Once they complete training, Griffith said they will receive equipment provided by the company to use for the program.

More specifically, it will be a special iPad that goes with the van driver. These iPads have GPS, which Faircloth can use to track where the van is from her desk. The system will allow for a text alert, a phone call when the driver is a certain distance away from the pickup location, a reminder call, and more.

“It’s got a lot of capability that will make it very easy for the rider and the driver to use the system,” Griffith said.

Griffith also said she hopes the timeline of getting the equipment and being live in the system will line up nicely with having their drivers ready to go.

After that, Griffith said they can really start marketing the program.

“We really wanted to be sure we had the capacity to meet the need for rides before we were really pushing it out there and did some mass publication about the program,” Griffith explained.

In the meantime, Griffith said they have transferred all of the ride requests to Faircloth for her to manage and organize. ARPA grant funds are also used to cover those rides when necessary, according to Griffith.

She continued by saying they are nearly done finalizing procedures for the program. Griffith emphasized they will be very clear it is a pilot program and subject to change.

“We want it to be as effective and useful and easy to use for people [as possible],” Griffith said. “Timeframes, the number of bags you’re able to have; that all may evolve as we really see what the need is.”

Regardless, Griffith said they need to have some sort of starting point to grow the program from. She also said they have drafted a waiver that will be reviewed by the Town attorney; this waiver will be signed by riders before enrolling in the program.

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Griffith said they are kicking off the process to review Newtown’s AARP Livable Community designation, which the town received in 2022.

According to Griffith, this started under former First Selectman Pat Llodra, who designated Friends of Newtown Seniors (FONS) to take the lead on that.

Through committee work with the COA, Human Services, and FONS, Griffith said they submitted an extensive executive summary to AARP.

This summary detailed the town’s goals and objectives in fulfilling the AARP’s 8 Domains of Livability, a framework used by towns and cities across the country to organize efforts in making their community more livable for older residents and those of all ages.

In October of this year, Griffith said AARP expects an update from them on what Newtown has actually done in that time and to see what they will do going forward.

Griffith said they kicked that off with a call to AARP in order to understand what the nonprofit is looking for.

“It’s very doable,” Griffith explained. “It’s a really good opportunity to take these documents, weed them out, and really figure out where the priorities are, make them more manageable.”

Griffith moved on to discuss the senior center’s membership numbers, as its membership year began July 1. Newtown Senior Center ended last year just under 700 members, and already has around 450 renewals.

“I think that’s a good percentage, just within less than a month of opening new memberships,” Griffith said.

She added that this is one of the reasons why Newtown Senior Center held an open house on July 11, where dozens of people from Newtown and the surrounding area toured the facility.

The event also allowed attendees to meet Newtown Senior Center’s staff, taste a sample of its lunch program, and learn about health and wellness classes from expert instructors.

Griffith said she was excited to see so many people there and enjoying the facility.

“We had quite a few new members sign up that day, and we’re still having people come in with applications they received that day,” Griffith said. “We really believe that when people get here and see what we’re all about, they’ll see it’s worth it.”

She said they will probably look into holding an open house annually around the start of the membership year.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.