The Wayne Community Church, United Methodist, has welcomed the town’s Aging At Home program into the ground floor of the Janet Richardson Education Wing of the church.

For more than 40 years, the church hosted nursery school and child care programs in this space. After the last child-care provider resigned, the church was unable to find someone to provide a children’s program, according to a news release from Sue Spalding of Wayne.

Last winter, representatives from the church, town of Wayne, and Aging at Home began discussing the idea of using the space for elders to meet and for the program director to have a dedicated office.

That idea became a reality July 24 after more than a dozen volunteers from both organizations prepared, painted, cleaned and moved furniture also donated by the church and other community members.

As part of the church’s mission to “Build Bridges of Healing and Hope,” the space and all utilities will be provided free of charge. According to the Rev. Angela Rotherham, the church’s pastor, “Responding to the needs of our community is what it means to be a community church. We are excited to share our space with such a vital organization and serve our elders as partners with AAH.”

The Aging At Home program of Wayne is part of the nationwide AARP Livable Communities project, which offers support for elders as they strive to remain in their homes and in the community while aging. The program coordinates regularly-delivered lunches to elders, meal gatherings when appropriate, Tai Chi and balance classes, ongoing connections through telephone calls and emails to check on seniors, and educational programs of interest such as estate planning.

Aging At Home has worked through the pandemic to provide COVID information, encourage vaccination, provide masks, test kits and provide other needed supplies. The program has worked with other organizations to install fire alarms, improve 911 response, and to help elders avoid scams and fraud.

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