BrooklineCAN Blog

The 20^th Age Friendly Cities TV show features new Police Chief Andrew Lipson and Elder Affairs Officer Michael Disario.  Both were raised in Brookline and have thorough knowledge of the community. 

Chief Lipson and Officer Disario particularly addressed the relationship between the community and the police, older adults, and regional police departments.

We recommend all members of BrooklineCAN watch the show as the conversation featured information pertinent to safety and community support for older adults. Programs are aired on Channel 3 on Comcast and RCN immediately following The Grandstanders live sports analysis show and are available on the BrooklineCAN web site and the BrooklineCAN Twitter and Facebook accounts. 

Need a Valentine’s present for a loved one?  Looking for a book to curl up with during these cold days or to read with your children or grandchildren during February school vacation week?

February is Quezalguaque Library Month at the Friends of the Brookline Library Book Sale.   Prices can’t be beat!   All proceeds from sales during February will be donated to support the Sister City Project built library and mobile library in Quezalguaque.

The Friends of the Brookline Library sale are at all three libraries.

The proposed border wall between the United States and Mexico is almost 2000 miles long. Imagine if the massive distance of this wall was re-conceptualized and re-contextualized not to divide, but to include. Instead of wall, a concrete line, to keep people out, what if lines of yarn became 3,500,640 yards of blankets to welcome people in?

A welcome blanket is traditionally created to lovingly mark the arrival of a new person into the world. In the Welcome Blanket project, each handmade blanket is a physical manifestation of this celebration of new refugees and other immigrants: “Welcome to the United States and your new life here! We are so glad you have arrived.”

Hadassah Margolis, one of originators of the Welcome Blanket Project, will be speaking at the Brookline Senior Center, Monday, Feb. 11th at 1 pm. Come hear how you can join other Brookline residents to create a Welcome Blanket.

Two events sponsored by Brookline Adult & Community Education—one in Brookline and one in Boston—offer new insights.  With “From the Town Green to Pill Hill: A Historical Walking Tour” ($22) a guide will take you through Brookline’s “wonderfully historic neighborhood” on February 24.  “Tour Commonwealth Avenue” ($20) on February 9 will explore Boston’s Victorian Era gems on a narrated walk along homes, buildings, and statues.  For more details on the content, as well as time, location, and registration information, see www.brooklineadulted.org, call 617-730-2700 or check the BA&CE Winter 2019 catalog, pages 31 and 32. 

Our volunteer website needs to be redesigned to focus more on local
volunteer opportunities.  Those interested will become members of a
small volunteer committee under the auspices of the Brookline Senior Center and
the Brookline Community Aging Network (BCAN).  You will join others
in helping to decide:  which volunteer opportunities should be
included; how the site will be updated to stay current; how to assist users of
the website; and how to spread awareness of the new website.   The
time commitment is flexible.  It would be helpful to have a
laptop.  Programming ability is helpful but is not
necessary. Interested?  Contact Abigail Lipson at albertalipson@gmail.com.

Understanding the world of long-term care insurance can be overwhelming, and it’s hard to know where to start. Long-term care expert, Linda Thalheimer, will speak at the Brookline Senior Center on Wednesday February 20th at 1:00 PM. In her presentation, she will provide an overview of the options available to enable you to make educated decisions to protect your family, your estate, your directives, and maximize the potential for optimal care.

Light refreshments will be provided at the session courtesy of Assured Allies, a local caregiver support company. The program is free but registration is strongly encouraged. Call 617 730 2777 to register.

Thinking about downsizing, moving or de-cluttering?  Need something but it does not have to be brand new?  Freecycle maybe for you.  Freecycle is a free online way to offer stuff you do not need or get something you do need. All without money changing hands! It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people in your own towns and neighborhoods. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.

It’s easy to sign up at https://www.freecycle.org/ . Just type in Brookline, MA and there is a list of items being offer and/or requested. There is a How to Use Freecycle at https://wiki.freecycle.org/How_To_Use_Freecycle .

A workshop on home sharing will be offered at the Brookline Senior Center on Thursday, January 10 at 1 pm. The workshop is for those who have extra space in their homes who want to explore the possibility of renting a room to someone else. Home sharing can be a source of income or help with household chores. Representatives of Nesterly, a Boston home-sharing organization that matches senior home owners with graduate students, will make a presentation and answer questions. The Livable Community Advocacy committee has a long-standing interest in home sharing as a strategy that can benefit older homeowners in various ways. Home sharing can also help overcome the shortage of affordable housing in the Boston area.

Wouldn’t It Be Loverly: The Musicals of Lerner and Lowe. Re-live their wonderful shows including My Fair Lady, Camelot, Brigadoon, and many others. Three sessions, Mondays, 1:00-3:00 pm. Starts January 7. $84/$68 for seniors

The Music of Igor Stravinsky: Full Spectrum Composer. In ballet, opera, and 12-tone works, Stravinsky influenced every part of twentieth music. Love Firebird, Rites of Spring, The Rake’s Progress?  Experience his works and career. Four sessions, Mondays, 1:00-3:00 pm. Starts February 4. $96/$78 for seniors. Call BA&CE at 617-730-2700 to register.

An album of 48 tiny photos of Brookline and Boston children, a name inside the front cover, dated March 16, 1882.  Who were these children? What was the connection between them? What became of them as adults? Ken Liss of the Brookline Historical Society will tell how months of research led to answers to these questions and to fascinating stories about individuals, Boston and Brookline society, and 19th century photography. Thursday, January 17, at 1:00 pm at the Senior Center. Space is limited. Please call 617-730-2770 to register.