Exciting information to share!

News & Updates

Summer 2022

We are hiring an Advocate! Apply to jin our growing team!

Join the EAIME Team

Thank you to the following businesses and foundations for their support this past year!

Mid Coast Hospital

Martin’s Point Health Care

Virginia Hodgkins Somers Foundation

Narragansett Number One Foundation

Maine Community Foundation

Fisher Charitable Foundation

Norway Savings Bank

Atlantic Federal Credit Union

John T. Gorman Foundation

Oceanview at Falmouth

Home Instead

Agnes M. Lindsay Trust

Maine Womens’ Fund

Alfred M. Senter Fund

Sam L. Cohen Foundation

Maine Health Access Foundation

First Parish Church of Brunswick

Eunice Frey Home Foundation

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Thank you to our 2022 Cottage Champion Craftsman Sponsor!

From Patty's Desk

Dear Friends,

My desk is a mess these days. Despite aiming for a paper-free office, piles of files compete with coffee cups and chargers and cords and cap-less pens. Unfortunately, my virtual desk looks the same.

I’m certain I am not alone in my struggle to balance my vacation goals (relax!) and work goals (catch up!). This summer feels particularly intense, however and if my desk is any indication, I am losing the struggle.

One of the things that grounds me amidst the external clutter is the clarity of purpose I witness among the amazing people I work alongside. This newsletter is a demonstration of that clarity. If you are struggling with chaos this summer, I hope you find grounding here, too.

- We introduce A Helping Voice - a new service to support people concerned about the safety of older Mainers. Learn more here.

- Friend of the agency, Mary Lou Ciofi shares her perspective on ageism in an interview with Elder Advocate Kathryn Harnish. Read more here.

- Elder Advocates answer the question: What would you want other people - EAIME supporters, legislators, community partner - to know about your work? Read more here.

- We welcome new staff, congratulate promotions and say goodbye and good luck to our esteemed colleague and Elder Service Connections Program Supervisor. Meet Megan, Polly and Joanna.

- We share an article published in The Gerontologist about our work. Read more here.

- We are hiring a new Advocate to join our Elder Service Connections Program. Click here for more information.

As we head into the last month of summer, on behalf of all of us at EAIME, we wish you more relaxation than work for the remainder of this sunny season. The messy desk can wait until Fall.

Sincerely,

Patty Kimball

Executive Director

Special thank you to those who contribute to creating our newsletters, most especially Chris Wolff, Operations Director, Kathryn Harnish, Elder Advocate and our special guest interviewees.

From the Field: Conversation with EAIME Advocates

Kathryn Harnish, EAIME Advocate, recently spent time with her fellow Advocates reflecting on a question posed in a team meeting:

What would you want other people - EAIME supporters, legislators, community partners, and so on - to know about your work?

To read their conversation click here.

"People often have a set of ideas about what “elder abuse” looks like…I certainly did when I came into this role. But I was quickly disabused of many of them.

Far from being frail or helpless, our clients are strong people living in an often fragile world, a world that too often forgets that the essence of being human is resistant to the passage of time."

A Helping Voice

Our newest service, A Helping Voice, is a confidential support line which offers guidance to people who are concerned about the safety of an older person.

When we promote this service, we are often asked “When should I call A Helping Voice?”

Here is our response:

If at any point you are concerned that an older adult is being mistreated, please reach out by calling 207-805-5555. Our Advisors are trained to help support and guide callers as they navigate their concerns and connect callers to helpful resources in the community.

All calls are confidential and callers can remain anonymous.

Want to learn more?

If you would like to learn more about A Helping Voice and when to call us, please reach out for a presentation for you and your colleagues. You can now follow A Helping Voice on Instagram and Facebook! Learn more here.

Ageism: an Interview with Mary Lou Ciolfi

Kathryn Harnish, EAIME Advocate, shares a recent conversation she had with Mary Lou Ciolfi, JD, MS about ageism. To read this interview, click here.

"The history of ageism ... is very much with us today, informing our attitudes toward older people.

The marginalization of older people has been around for centuries, but it intersected with protectionism with Civil War pension benefits and, later, Social Security benefits. These were – and are – important public safety nets, of course, but we seem to have taken the protection of older people to a ridiculous extreme by eroding their autonomy and sense of agency.

As a society, we’ve ended up in a place where we truly do see older people as lesser; through our ageist beliefs, we deprive older people of their essential humanity."

Staff Transitions

Megan Nizza, MSW

Outgoing Program Supervisor

Megan began her work with us in June 2019 as we launched Elder Service Connections. She came to the job interested in working with older folks, exploring restorative approaches, and a with keen eye for research.