COA Articles
Article 1: Food
The Council on Aging (COA) provides Concord
seniors with a multitude of services and assistance, much of which were severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the early days of 2020, COA staff confronted the beginning of a series of challenges: how would they continue to serve the needs of their senior clients? How would they function during a pandemic that was forcing residents apart for their own safety?
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Article 2: Canasta Class – A COA Service and a Key 
to Friendship
Among the many activities offered
by the Council on Aging (COA), the opportunity to learn how to play games, such as bridge, backgammon, chess, or Mahjong is particularly important for many seniors who live alone. Mental challenge and new companionship are sought even more than a winning score as reasons for learning new games.
In October 2019 Pat Grainger offered a course on playing Standard American Canasta at the COA facility in the Harvey Wheeler Community Center. Eight seniors signed up to take the course – Joy, Ruth, Carol and Carl, John and Phyllis, Faye, and Teri. This pre-pandemic training course was a success
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Article 3: Vaccination Clinics
In 2020, many Concord seniors celebrated their birthdays alone in their homes, isolated from friends and family for their own protection from Covid. As the Covid pandemic spread across Massachusetts and the country, some may have wondered “Will I ever be able to celebrate again with my friends and my family?”
Fortunately, covid vaccines were developed successfully and became available in early 2021. However, some of Concord’s seniors – members of the population most vulnerable to Covid – urgently needed vaccinations but were not able to navigate the complicated process of finding a vaccination site and securing a highly coveted appointment to obtain them on their own.
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