Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Social Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
New Council on Aging director outlines growing senior demand, transit and volunteer reliance
Summary
Emily Williams, Brookline’s new Council on Aging director, briefed the Select Board on rising demand for transportation and services, a $1.3 million proposed operating request, and reliance on volunteers and grants to fill budget gaps as ARPA funds wind down.
Emily Williams, newly appointed director of the Brookline Council on Aging, made her first presentation to the Select Board on April 8, highlighting service demand, volunteer contributions and FY26 budget needs.
Highlights: - Mission and scope: The Brookline Senior Center serves residents age 60 and older (the department monitors age-55 cohorts as future demand), with roughly 3,000 unduplicated participants and a volunteer base of about 370 residents who supplied an estimated 42,000 hours of service in FY24. - Budget: Williams requested an operating-level budget of about $1.3 million for FY26; town operating funds cover less than 70% of the senior center’s needs and the remainder comes from grants and the nonprofit Brookline Multiservice Senior Center Corporation. - Transportation: The center provided more than 10,000 rides in a year and said the average cost per ride is roughly $16–17; Williams identified transit and medical-escort services as core funding priorities and warned that ARPA funding supporting some services ends December 2026. - Programs and space: Williams outlined plans for a needs assessment in partnership with UMass Boston Gerontology Institute and said the department will explore satellite locations, including potential use of other town facilities, to expand programming and reduce North/South Brookline access gaps.
Why it matters: Brookline’s older population is growing and the Council on Aging plays a key role in preventing service crises and supporting public-health outcomes. The director emphasized equity, translation services and hybrid program delivery to reach homebound participants.
Next steps: The director will pursue a data-driven needs assessment and return to the board with specific requests around transit funding and space strategy.
