BrooklineCAN Blog

Join in virtually on Tuesday, January 19, 2-3:30 pm, to hear Katharine Esty PhD, present “How Seniors Can Continue to Live Fulfilled, Happy Lives Despite the Challenges of Aging and COVID-19”.  Dr. Esty is a best-selling author, practicing psychotherapist, a widow, a mother, a grandmother, and an activist for aging well. Her most recent book is:  Eightysomethings- A Practical Guide to Letting Go, Aging Well, and Finding Unexpected Happiness.  See her web site https://www.katharineesty.com/ to receive her monthly newsletter or purchase her book.

The program is co-sponsored by the Senior Center, BrooklineCAN, Center Communities of Brookline, and Goddard House Assisted Living.
To join by computer,  click here.
If you have any difficulty, contact Julie Washburn at jwashburn@brooklinema.gov and she will send you the link. To join by phone, dial 1-833-548-0282 and enter meeting ID: 858 118 6414 when prompted.

Building a Better Brookline  is a coalition of multiple constituencies—focusing on housing, racial equity, transportation, climate sustainability, and economic development–all concerned about housing affordability.  After studying successful efforts in other communities, the organization has determined that an inclusive planning process is essential and that it is important to include a wide variety of Brookline’s residents in the planning process.  To this end, they  are holding a series of smaller, inclusive, community-based conversations, where everyone, especially those who are traditionally not at the table, will feel safe and, confident of being heard as they voice their opinions and priorities.

If you would be interested in participating in an online meeting of seniors on the topic of housing, please contact Carol Caro carol.b.caro@gmail.com or Ruth Seidman rkseidman@comcast.net.

Beth Israel Deaconess is offering this Zoom Virtual Webinar in its Senior Health Series on Thursday, January 14, 6:30 to 7:30 pm.  The program  is free and is geared toward patients and their caregivers.  To register click here.

BACE is providing many interesting offerings starting in January.  Some are single events and others are offered over multi weeks. Some are free, some not and others allow you to decide what you want to pay.

For classes especially for seniors click here.  You can click on each title for a description of the class.

Other classes that look interesting are
Researching the History of Old Houses in Greater Boston
Climate Action: Brilliant Ideas to Save the Planet
Death Cafe

Of special interest to seniors, Town Meeting voted to petition the State Legislature to permit Brookline to establish a new property tax assistance program for qualified low-income senior homeowners who are unable to qualify for the Town’s Senior Tax Deferral Program (primarily because their home has an outstanding conventional mortgage that prevents their participation).  The Moderator’s Committee on Elderly Tax Relief, which proposed this new tax exemption, estimates that about 100 Brookline senior homeowners (nearly 90% of whom are spending more than half of their income on housing costs) could be helped by this new program.  The State Legislature must vote its approval before Brookline can offer this new exemption.

For information about Brookline’s Senior Tax Deferral Program, click here .

The Brookline Senior Center is starting a glove, scarf, and hat drive. There are people in the community who can use these warm winter items.

If you can help either by donating some new or gently used or personally created gloves, scarves, or hats, please drop them off at the Senior Center from 11-1 pm on Monday, Wed or Friday.  Your donations will be most appreciated.

And for the knitters out there, a little advance notice that there will be a virtual knitting group happening on Martin Luther King Day in mid-January hosted by Inspo-Expo of Brookline.  This portends to be a fun online one-time group to spur on “social knitting” in service to the Brookline community.

If you have items that you no longer need, here is a no-hassle way to recycle them by giving them to someone in your neighborhood. On the website, Freecycle.org, you can join a local branch and then list things you are offering. Other members respond via the website and the two parties make arrangements for contact-free pick-up of items. The website is very user-friendly, and the local group also sends out e-mail notices with the latest offerings. There is no charge for this service!

Health Commissioner Dr. Swannie Jett announces that a COVID-19 testing site is open in Brookline that will operate through the end of 2020.

The Brookline Department of Public Health has partnered with mPathy LLC to establish a COVID-19 testing site in town, outside the Public Health building at 11 Pierce St. for town residents, Public Schools of Brookline students and teachers, as well as town staff.

PCR swab tests will be available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments can be made by booking online https://www.mpathy.org/schedule. The testing program will run until Dec. 31.

Testing will be available for both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, however, only the costs for those displaying symptoms will be processed through the patients’ health insurance provider. Brookline residents who are uninsured will have access to free COVID-19 testing if they are displaying symptoms or have been informed they are a close contact of a positive case. Other Asymptomatic individuals will be required to pay $140. Asymptomatic individuals who seek testing may request reimbursement for the expense through their insurance company.

Join in virtually on Monday, December 7 at 1:30 pm for a wonderful performance by singer-songwriter guitarist Laura Wetzler.  Laura will explore songs from classic American films and celebrate their creators. Musical selections will include songs by Berlin, Gershwin, Kern, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Hamlisch, Bacharach, the Bergmans, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, & others. This program is sponsored by Center Communities of Brookline, Goddard House Assisted Living and Memory Care and the Brookline Senior Center.

To join by computer, simply click on this link at the designated time: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82863460620?pwd=Yk4xd3lnbkllMldyVVBqWmVrNmFXZz09 If you have any trouble using the above link, please contact Julie Washburn at jwashburn@brooklinema.gov and she will send you the link directly.   To join by phone, dial 1-301-715-8592 (toll call) and enter the meeting ID: 828 6346 0620 and passcode: 4243433.

The Brookline Pedestrian Advisory Committee would like assistance in identifying areas around construction sites where pedestrian access has been made unsafe.  They also wish to be informed of areas where overgrown hedges or bushes have narrowed the sidewalk so much that passage is difficult for wheelchair or walker users.

This data collection will help the committee determine the extent of these problems. Members of the public can send reports of instances to Committee Chair David Trevvett at detrevvett@gmail.com .  You should include the street address or other detailed description of the location, and if you wish include a picture and a brief statement on how this constitutes a problem.