Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services

12/12/2025

We love to see the Savvy Caregiver Graduate Support Group come together each month!

The Savvy Caregiver Graduate group offers peer support to fellow caregivers who have completed the Savvy Caregiver course. The group formed organically as a way for caregivers to continue meeting and maintaining the sense of community they built in the program. 💜

We’re proud to offer a venue for this group to show up for and support each other!

12/10/2025

We were thrilled to celebrate the grand opening of our new congregate breakfast site at Properzi Manor, one of SCES’ Supportive Living sites!

Staff from SCES and the Somerville Housing Authority shared opening-day remarks, while residents enjoyed a delicious spread of pastries, fruit, yogurt, coffee, and more. Meals will continue to be offered Monday-Friday each morning from 9:30-10:30 am.

SCES congregate meal sites offer older adults the chance to enjoy a nutritious meal in a friendly, social setting at no charge. Explore all of SCES' congregate meal locations on our website: www.eldercare.org/find-what-you-need/nutrition_and_meals/congregate-meal-sites/

12/09/2025

We are thrilled to announce that SCES, in partnership with Greater Lynn Senior Services (GLSS.net), SeniorCare Inc., and Positive Approach, LLC, has been awarded $100,000 to expand and enhance support for family caregivers!

This generous grant will enable SCES to train volunteers who will work directly with family caregivers. SCES staff will be trained in the Positive Approach to Care program, which equips caregivers with practical, compassionate tools to better understand dementia and support individuals experiencing brain change.

SCES will integrate the new training into its Family Caregiver Support Program, which offers caregivers resources that support informed decision-making, problem-solving, stress reduction, and overall physical and emotional well-being.

SCES is currently recruiting volunteers to work with caregivers through this grant! If you’re interested in volunteering, please reach out to Sunny Milligan at Sunny.Milligan@eldercare.org or 617-628-2601.

12/08/2025

We recently hosted one of our favorite annual events: the Thanksgiving Day Meals on Wheels delivery!

SCES delivered 325 meals to 250 older adults, thanks to an amazing effort from our staff and volunteers. The volunteer-led deliveries give Meals on Wheels drivers a well-deserved day off and offer a friendly check in for those who receive home delivered meals.

The kindness of others made more than Thanksgiving morning a success. SCES Nutrition & Community Partnerships Director Avery Margenot spent the night before tracking down much-needed cold bags — bags that were critical to keeping the meals at a safe temperature. Along the way, she met generous strangers who offered their time and resources to ensure all 325 meals could be packed and delivered safely. Click the link below to read all about Avery’s adventures!

Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving Day reflections from volunteers.

SCES Nutrition & Community Partnerships Director Avery Margenot shares her pre-Thanksgiving adventures and how far the kindness of strangers can go. It’s normal for things not to go to plan on Thanksgiving. That’s why, at 4 p.m. on the […]

12/04/2025

Our Adult Family Care team recently completed their annual caregiver appreciation gift card distribution! All 230 AFC caregivers received a gift card and letter of gratitude from the team. The gift cards are a small token of our appreciation for the care and dedication caregivers display in their roles each day.

AFC ensures that older adults and people with disabilities can live in a supportive family setting that fosters the best quality of life for themselves and their caregivers. For more information about the program, visit adultfamilycare.org or give us a call at 617-440-0987!

12/02/2025

Want to join a global giving movement and support people right here in Somerville and Cambridge? Consider making a gift to SCES during !

For more than 50 years, SCES has been committed to advancing health, equity and independence. Our team meets people where they are — through hardships or uncertainty — to deliver services that make it easier to live at home. Unfortunately, many essential services are no longer being funded adequately — or at all. Our neighbors are facing a triple crisis: hunger, cold homes and growing economic instability.

To meet these urgent needs, SCES has created the Dignity & Independence Fund, which enables us to:

🤝 Deliver meals, groceries, and supplies to homebound older adults, those with disabilities and their caregivers;
🤝 Expand medically tailored Meals on Wheels and nutrition supplements for those with complex medical needs;
🤝 Assist those struggling to heat their homes

During this season of giving, we hope you’ll remember those in need, right here in our community. Please consider making a gift today to help us meet our goal of $100,000 before the end of the year!

Visit eldercare.org/donate or mail a check to:

Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services
Department 1480
PO Box 986500
Boston, MA 02298-6500

11/26/2025

As Thanksgiving approaches, we’re feeling especially grateful for all the family caregivers who work around the clock to provide care for their loved ones!

SCES is proud to offer a range of caregiver supports, including our Adult Family Care (AFC) program. AFC ensures that older adults and people with disabilities can live in a supportive family setting that fosters the best quality of life for themselves and their caregivers. The program consistently receives high marks from participants!

Swipe left to read about AFC’s impact in the words of our caregiving community.

To learn more about AFC, please visit adultfamilycare.org or call 617-440-0987.

11/24/2025

As we celebrate caregivers during National Family Caregivers Month, we’d like to spotlight a growing population: the sandwich generation.

The sandwich generation comprises people who care for an adult as well as a child under 18; three in ten of Massachusetts’ more than 1.4 million caregivers fall into this category. It’s a role that comes with many challenges as caregivers juggle childcare and work obligations on top of caring for an aging relative.

A recent Boston Magazine story offers a look inside how Boston-area caregivers are making it work. The story features Danielle, a former SCES Savvy Caregiver participant. Savvy Caregiver is a free course that offers skill building and resource sharing to people caring for a loved one with dementia or other memory-related issues.

Stories like Danielle’s underscore the importance of offering family caregivers resources to support themselves and their loved one.

Click the link below for the full story!

A special report on the hidden crisis overwhelming middle-aged Boston.

11/21/2025

Thank you to Arielle Galinsky and the whole team at the Gerontological Society of America for inviting SCES President & CEO Marta Corvêlo to speak at the recent Future of Aging Summit!

Marta joined Amy Gotwals from USAging, Dr. Edward Miller from UMass Boston's Department of Gerontology, Deanna Mazina from the Executive Office of Aging & Independence, and Dr. Richard Dupee from the Tufts University School of Medicine to discuss whole person care and the value of strong cross-sector partnerships.

The Future of Aging Summit unites students and young professionals who are emerging leaders in the aging field, and we were thrilled to participate!

Photo credit: Ollie Kamens

11/19/2025

Congratulations to everyone who was honored at the recent Champions of Housing event, hosted by Metro Housing Boston!

Champions of Housing recognizes community leaders who are committed to ensuring that everyone in Greater Boston has a place to call home.

Marta Corvêlo (second right), SCES’ President & CEO, and Jesse Edsell-Vetter (right), SCES’ Senior Director of Operations & Organizational Alignment, enjoyed celebrating Zach Gordon (middle), Senior Program Manager of Policy and Administration at Cambridge Housing Authority, who received a Rising Star Award.

Marta, Jesse and Zach are pictured here with Matthew Pike (left), Director of Strategic Initiatives at CHA, and Brenda Downing (second left), CHA’s Deputy Executive Director.

CHA is one of SCES’ valued partners. Together, we offer congregate meals at three housing sites in Cambridge: Millers River, Manning Apartments and Burns Apartments. This important partnership offers space for residents to connect over a warm meal.

Congratulations again, Zach, for the well-deserved award!

11/17/2025

Today, we remember disability justice activist Alice Wong, who passed away on November 14.

Wong was a dedicated advocate, community organizer, writer and editor who used storytelling to show the breadth of experiences within the disability community. In 2014, she founded the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture.

Wong gained many accolades throughout her life: she was a 2024 MacArthur Fellow, a former member of the National Council on Disability and recipient of numerous local and national awards for her leadership and activism. She was committed to challenging ableism and increasing the political and cultural visibility of disabled people.

Wong's work helped move the needle toward a more inclusive and equitable society. Her legacy will not be forgotten.

Visit the Disability Visibility Project website here: https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/.

11/12/2025

Thank you to everyone who sponsored our Future of Aging Forum! We are deeply grateful for your support of SCES and our work to help people age in the setting of their choice with the resources they need.

We are proud that our sponsors represented many industries and include some of our vendors and partners. Their generosity helps SCES offer services like home delivered meals, money management, behavioral health outreach, and transportation — all of which are crucial to helping older adults and adults with disabilities maintain health and independence.