Dennis Center for Active Living outlines growth plans, digital lab and after-hours pilot

Brenda Vasquez, director of the Dennis Center for Active Living (DECAL), presented an operational update to the Select Board on June 30 detailing program growth, a new digital-literacy lab and an after-hours pilot designed to broaden community access.

Vasquez described the center’s role as a municipal hub for older adults, caregivers and volunteers. She said DECAL is responding to an aging local population and growing demand for services such as caregiver support, respite services and early-stage dementia supports. She highlighted a federal CMS-related pilot (a dementia care model) and partnerships with regional providers to coordinate caregiver referrals.

A focal point of the presentation was a recently awarded digital-equity grant that funded a new lab with laptop workstations, instructional tablets, 20 mobile hotspots and accessibility software. Vasquez said the lab will be used to teach digital literacy, protect residents from scams, provide resume-building and workforce-development support, and extend services to residents with hearing, speech or mobility limitations.

Vasquez also described an after-hours pilot — one evening per week — aimed at residents who work daytime hours. The pilot has shown promising attendance and will inform any future staffing request the center brings forward in the FY28 budget process. She asked the board to consider staffing models that would allow the facility to be open more nights and to support custodial and program staff needed to sustain expanded hours.

Board members praised the presentation and urged DECAL to return with a costed staffing proposal for the FY28 budget. "When you come back before us, you need to hit us right between the eyes with what you want, and we need to see what the costs are going to be," said a Select Board member. Vasquez said DECAL will prepare data and budget requests to show program impacts and sustainability needs.