For many island communities, caring for elderly citizens is difficult because of geographic isolation. The lack of facilities on-island means that elders find themselves separated from familiar surroundings and neighbors. Vinalhaven’s response was to build the Ivan Calderwood Homestead, an on-island adult family care home which opened in the fall of 2001 (WWF, Sept. 2002). Earlier, a group on Chebeague established a similar home for that Casco Bay community’s elderly citizens.
After reading of Vinalhaven’s pioneering project, Islesboro resident Paula Mirk decided to investigate the possibility of opening such a facility on Islesboro. Sharon Daley, another Islesboro resident familiar with the Vinalhaven facility as visiting island nurse for the Maine Sea Coast Missionary Society, was thinking along similar lines herself. The embarked on a joint trip to visit the Calderwood Homestead, and were sufficiently inspired to start discussions about such a facility on Islesboro.
After the first informational meeting, several islanders volunteered to serve on a board for this undertaking, which was by now known as the Beacon Project. Since mid-April, the organization has visited other mid-coast eldercare facilities, held several informational public meetings, and distributed a monthly newsletter (written by board member Sandy Oliver) to keep island residents abreast of new developments and the project’s progress.
The response to the project has been overwhelmingly positive. Paul Nichter, Beacon Project board member, recognized the need for such a facility some ten years ago after being alerted by his wife, Carole, a geriatric nurse. Beacon Project president Bonnie Hughes has seen the necessity for an eldercare facility since moving to the island, a place where islanders could be taken care of and still lead fairly independent lives with community support. She noted how isolated island elders feel in mainland facilities, due to the difficulties that ferry schedules and time constraints place on island friends trying to visit them. Older islanders can feel cut off from family, friends and community.
The Beacon Project’s stated mission is to allow Islesboro’s elders to remain on the island with dignity and comfort as members of the community. The group wants to change the fact that “for too many years, cherished island elders, when they become unable to care for themselves or to be cared for by other family members, have left Islesboro for assisted living facilities or nursing homes, far from their home island, and the community who knew and loved them.”
The centerpiece of the Beacon Project is a proposed group home for six residents, providing high-quality, individualized care from round-the-clock staff. Six ground-floor resident rooms are planned, each with a private bath, and a large common living room, a dining room, and a kitchen. Building committee chairman Paul Nichter envisions a large, roomy kitchen area, with ample space for informal gatherings and conversation areas. This facility, once constructed, should become largely self-supporting through payments from private sources and Medicaid funds, requiring only minor continuing fundraising to sustain it. As a private, non-profit venture, the facility wouldn’t be dependent on town revenues.
The Genesis Fund, which provides technical and funding assistance to similar eldercare facilities in the state of Maine (including two on islands), is consulting with Beacon Project members, helping to connect them to other organizations in Maine that are operating completed facilities like the one planned for Islesboro. Bequests, legacies or gifts to the Beacon Project are deductible for federal estate and gift tax purposes. All donors will be members of the organization, entitled to attend annual meetings in October of each year and to participate in the election of directors.
Two grants were recently awarded to the Beacon Project. The Centennial Fund of the Christ Church – established to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the church’s founding by supporting new initiatives by Islesboro community organizations – has given the Project $3,500. The Waldo County Fund, which supports innovative grassroots projects organized by local residents to improve the quality of life in the county, has awarded the Project $2,000. Besides the financial support of these organizations, project members appreciate the tangible encouragement to continue the Beacon Project with these funds as start-up money.
Community support has been encouraging to the Beacon Project’s board of directors, and while they’re excited about the building momentum of the project, they also realize that they have a great deal of hard work ahead of them. Some tough issues – some peculiar to islands – remain to be dealt with.
Heading this list is the question of who the residents of the proposed facility will be, and how their admittance is to be decided. No easy solutions exist where there are often conflicting personalities, or circumstances where what one knows about a potential resident may hinder rather than help their cause. Mainland facilities, where residents are usually unknown to each other before arriving, seldom deal with this problem. The Beacon Project board of directors is looking closely at how other island facilities – in particular the Vinalhaven facility – deal with these island issues, to guide them in preparing their own priority list for admittance.
The Beacon Project’s goal is to open an eldercare facility on Islesboro by 2005. Anyone interested in learning more about the project, offering suggestions or assistance, or wishing to make a contribution, may contact any Beacon Project board member, or drop a line to P.O. Box 1135, Islesboro, ME 04848.
