Harpswell Aging at Home shares its growth and success at state public health conference

Harpswell Aging at Home was honored to be chosen as one of the presenters at the Maine Public Health Association’s annual conference on Oct. 1. The theme of the conference was “Nourish to Flourish: Cultivating Healthy Communities for Today and the Future.” The event promoted a return to the basics of public health — focusing on essential needs, such as food systems, safety, housing, healthcare, and clean air and water.

Harpswell Aging at Home is a model of how to come together in a diverse community, identify its needs, and strategize about how to meet those needs. The conference gave HAH a forum to share its model.

In 2025 alone, more than 450 volunteers — in a town of just 5,000 — contributed more than 16,000 hours of service. Their efforts include all-community meals, notes and calls to reduce isolation, home repairs, and intergenerational programs with college students, preschoolers and Girl Scouts, to name just a few.

One part of HAH’s success lies in its efforts to build trust with everyone in the community, including Harpswell’s multigenerational fishing families and its newer residents. In fact, when local fishermen saw the need and the number of people HAH was serving, they generously donated more than 500 pounds of fresh seafood for HAH’s volunteer cooks to prepare.

Jay McCreight, a founding member of HAH and a Maine Public Health Association board member, and Julie Moulton, co-chair of HAH’s Food Program, are two of the most caring and hardworking people we are blessed to have in Harpswell. They attended the conference and presented a poster titled: “A volunteer effort focused on older adults nourishes the wider community.”

In true HAH fashion, a small group of volunteers brainstormed and worked with HAH’s graphic designer, Graham Nash, to create a poster that represents the many facets of the organization and how it has grown over the years. The graphic encapsulates the many programs, additions and expansions that have sprung from a humble beginning in 2016, all in response to community-identified needs.

Because of their deep involvement in HAH for many years, Jay and Julie were well positioned to offer detailed information, not only to tout our community’s accomplishments, but also to encourage other communities to pick up the mantle and build ways to address their own needs.

HAH began with a focus on older adults, but its spirit of collaboration, flexibility and respect has blossomed into benefits for the entire town. HAH’s organizational structure and resources, including a step-by-step home repair manual, are readily available to help other communities replicate this success while letting their own culture and needs lead the way.

The HAH poster was met with many oohs and aahs, lots of enthusiasm and many questions. Thanks to Jay and Julie, the presentation provided an opportunity for others to take a closer look at what is possible, and opened the door to the realization of what they can do.