Dear Westford Resident,
As you may know, at our Annual Town Meeting next Saturday, May 10th, the town’s Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen have made the recommendation that the ASDP be eliminated from the budget for Health and Human Services.
When this program was started in 2001, we were charged with growing the program and with becoming a self-sufficient program within five years. We are now two years beyond that time. While we have worked hard to keep our fees reasonable and contracted with Elder Services of Merrimack for financial assistance for qualifying clients, the amounts received have not allowed us to self-support. This, along with changes in client census, has made it difficult to continue to fiscally manage this program and meet the original goal.
We are currently looking into merging or partnering this program with another agency in the hope of providing a seamless transition for our clients. Ideally, we would like it to continue in the same location at 65 Tadmuck Rd. and the Executive Director of the Housing Authority supports this. We have opened dialogue with an agency which is considering this possibility; we expect to have more information in the very near future and will inform you once there is a final determination and clarity in the process.
We have not discussed this with our program’s participants, nor do we plan to burden them with this issue. We do, however, want you to be informed as we go through this process and assure you that we have the clients’ best interest as our main focus as we move to continue this program.
Please feel free to call the Director of Elder Services at any time with questions or to share information at 978 399-2323. Thank you for providing us the opportunity to serve your family member in this capacity.
Sincerely,
Helena Crocker, Chairperson
Westford Council on Aging
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