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Bay Aging President and CEO Kathy Vesley says, “Whether you’re a young family experiencing housing instability, a busy executive struggling to care for a parent with dementia, a veteran with chronic health conditions or a retiree perplexed by Medicare Open Enrollment choices, Bay Aging can assist you.” Photo of Kathy Vesley by Corey Miller.
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Active Lifestyle Centers are interspersed between Lancaster, Gloucester, Mathews, King William, Middlesex, Northumberland and Westmoreland counties. Photo by Corey Miller.
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Certified Dementia Practitioner® and Lead Options Counselor, Mary Arthur (at far right), and Options Counselor, Kelsey Houston (left of Mary Arthur), oversee Bay Aging’s comprehensive caregiver support program. Photos by Corey Miller.
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Senior Vice President Joshua Gemerek oversees Bay Aging’s Multifamily Housing division consisting of 12 rental complexes, as well as the Housing Choice Voucher program and Homeless Solutions. Photo of Joshua Gemerek by Corey Miller.
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An advocate for the disabled, Rev. Maria Harris is a member of Bay Aging’s Board of Directors. Bay Transit’s Director Ken Pollock says their service area “is bigger than Delaware.” Photo of Rev. Harris and Ken Pollock by Corey Miller.
Gas was 65 cents a gallon and eggs 59 cents a dozen in June 1978. That’s when Bay Aging was established as a non-profit 501(c)3 dedicated to providing the programs and services that people of all ages need to live independently.
Leadership
Today, Bay Aging continues to evolve, offering services to residents of all ages and income levels. “We offer traditional services like Meals on Wheels and rides to medical appointments, but so much more,” says President and CEO Kathy Vesley. “Whether you’re a young family experiencing housing instability, a busy executive struggling to care for a parent with dementia, a veteran with chronic health conditions or a retiree perplexed by Medicare Open Enrollment choices, Bay Aging can assist you.”
Bay Aging’s direct program offerings are bolstered by partnerships with local provider groups, to whom Bay Aging connects clients. “It’s a new era of healthy aging,” Vesley explains. “We support community members as they transition through all stages of life, helping them have the best quality of life possible.”
Fifteen years ago, three-quarters of their budget consisted of grants. Foreseeing that grant funding wouldn’t keep pace with the region’s needs, Vesley pursued contracts with government agencies like Veterans Affairs and Medicaid, and healthcare companies such as United, Aetna and Anthem.
“Fee-for-service contracts now provide 74% of Bay Aging’s revenues, which with donations helps grow services for the local community,” Vesley says. “Many programs are offered to residents free of charge.”
Support
Such is the case with caregiving support. Lead Options Counselor Mary Arthur’s passion for caregiving was jumpstarted at 17 when her grandmother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Arthur went on to work at Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury for 15 years in multiple roles, becoming a Certified Dementia Practitioner®. “I wanted to be the resource my family didn’t have with my grandmother,” she says.
The aging baby boomer population means that in the Northern Neck/Middle Peninsula, one in three adults identifies as a caregiver. To address the local need for caregiver support, Bay Aging hired Arthur in 2022 to build a comprehensive system to assist caregivers and has since added a second Options Counselor, Kelsie Houston.
The caregiver support program follows a family, supports them and helps them cope with the physical, mental and emotional demands of caregiving. The nine support groups take place in person, on Zoom or by phone.
For working caregivers, there are online classes, support groups that begin after 5 pm and weekly emails with tips and support group information. “Caregivers often say they had no idea all this was available to them,” Arthur says. “It’s amazing to see their hope change after hearing from other care partners.”
Linda Stemple’s husband has Parkinson’s disease dementia, so she appreciates that the support group is made up of people who understand her everyday struggles and that Arthur offers thoughtful suggestions on coping. “It’s good to have others listen and be there for me,” Stemple says. “The most challenging part of caregiving is that it never stops. It’s wonderful to have people understand the responsibility.”
Every care partner who calls Bay Aging gets a free consultation and one-on-one with Arthur or Houston, as well as a Veteran Options Counselor if appropriate and a Care Coordinator. Other support comes from Meals on Wheels, Adult Day Care, Active Lifestyle Centers and home repair programs. “Assistance with any task or responsibility helps lessen the load for caregivers,” Arthur says.
Bay Aging partnered with the Alzheimer’s Association to bring a support group to those with early-stage memory loss and their caregiver simultaneously. “Caregivers often struggle with leaving their loved one alone to attend a group,” Arthur says. “Our Dual Support Group allows them to have someone with their loved one while we support them.”
Bay Aging and the Martha W. Goodson Center cohost a Memory Café in Gloucester to help connect those with memory loss and their care partners with others like them. Caregivers Don and Christy Talbott are grateful for the Café. “We enjoyed snacks and coffee while talking to others who understand what it means to live with or care for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia-like symptoms. We leave refreshed, understood and ready to face tomorrow knowing we’re not alone in this fight.” Plans are in the works for a Memory Café in Lancaster County.
Housing
Bay Aging’s Multifamily Housing division is led by Senior Vice President Joshua Gemerek who manages 12 rental complexes, 11 of which serve older adults, with one for workforce housing. The goal of the housing programs is to help people live independently in the community rather than moving into institutions.
He also oversees the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which provides rental assistance, and Homeless Solutions, which assists families at risk of homelessness. Not just for older adults, these programs are age-inclusive services.
Bay Aging has rental complexes in Colonial Beach, Montross, Kilmarnock, Urbanna, West Point, Gloucester and Williamsburg. The most recent is Gloucester’s Daffodil Gardens II, which offers one- and two-bedroom rental units. Renters range from those who don’t want the upkeep of a big house anymore to people experiencing homelessness for a variety of reasons.
JoAnne Jones and her husband, Solomon Jr., moved into Daffodil Gardens II last November. Part of the appeal was how close everything, including grocery stores, was. “I was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer and we’re practically across the street from the hospital,” she says. “We take Bay Transit for our doctors’ appointments.”
The couple has been impressed with how friendly and helpful everyone has been. “I tell people there’s no better place to live,” Jones says, adding that even the application process was easy. “When you get tired of the responsibility of a house and yard, this place makes you feel welcome.”
Bay Aging’s rental communities are income restricted and, except for workforce housing, age restricted. While all properties currently have a waiting list, prospective renters can complete an application to go on the list.
“The main benefit to living in our complexes is being with others in the same phase of life,” Gemerek says. “Our Resident Support Coordinators arrange for events, activities and regular bookmobile visits. We’re trying to create a supportive environment.”
Part of that support is providing places for older adults to get out of the house and socialize.
Bay Aging has Active Lifestyle Centers in Lancaster, Gloucester, Mathews, King William, Middlesex, Northumberland and Westmoreland counties. Lunch is served on days they’re open. The Centers welcome clients aged 60 and older throughout the Northern Neck/Middle Peninsula to attend any ALC location they choose.
Laura Matthews manages the Mathews Active Lifestyle Center. “We’re a place for folks who want to get out, have a free lunch and enjoy themselves with activities,” she says. “People come to socialize and benefit from a chatty meal with others.”
The Center is spacious, with areas for various activities. Not surprisingly, the living room with sofa, chairs and TV isn’t especially popular with more entertaining activities going on. All books in the library are free to keep. Two desktop computers allow online time. A coffee station keeps everyone caffeinated.
Socializing centers around the congregant room, where lunch, activities and holiday parties take place. A piano, two puzzle tables, a game cart and plants lining the windowsills contribute to a welcoming atmosphere. A pool table awaits in the back room where chair exercises take place. “We’ve all got to move more, and we encourage that,” Matthews says.
All the Active Lifestyle Centers have one goal in mind: providing a sense of community along with socialization for older adults. Says Matthews, “It takes a village to make all of this happen.”
It also takes transportation.
Transport
One bus and a grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation in 1996 was all it took to launch Bay Transit, the only public transportation provider in the Northern Neck/Middle Peninsula region.
Today, Bay Transit has 35 buses operating on any given day and a service area covering 12 counties including New Kent and Charles City counties. Buses run 6 am to 6 pm., Monday through Friday. “Our service area is bigger than Delaware,” says Ken Pollock, Bay Transit’s director. “We travel great distances to pick up people and take them where they want to go.”
Bay Transit places no age or economic restrictions on who can use their services except that children 12 and under need a parent or guardian. Car in the shop? Hair or medical appointment and don’t feel like driving? Don’t have a car to get to work? People who don’t need their services today often find that they do in the future.
Most of Bay Transit’s service is done on a demand/response basis, meaning you call 24 hours in advance to schedule and are picked up and returned home. Because predicting when a doctor visit will end is difficult, their Will Call service is based on a call from the doctor’s office post-appointment. The cost is $2 each way.
Tappahannock and West Point have Flexible Fixed Routes with designated stops for $1 a ride. Patrons up to three-quarters of a mile from a designated bus stop and unable to walk can be picked up at their home.
Bay Transit Express is an Uber-like shared ride service covering the 17-square-mile area from Gloucester Courthouse to Gloucester Point. Using the Bay Transit Express app, users can hail a ride and be picked up within 15 minutes for $1 per ride.
The New Freedom Program is designed for those over 60 and people with disabilities to provide access to activities—specialized medical services, seeing a play, going to the airport—outside Bay Transit’s service area and/or schedule. Vehicles with wheelchair lifts are available. The cost is $5 for routes 50 miles or less and $10 for routes over 50 miles.
After being diagnosed with MS, the Rev. Maria Harris became an advocate for the disabled. Currently a member of Bay Aging’s Board of Directors representing King William County, she’s also a devoted client of the New Freedom Program to get to medical appointments.
Although she’d used a similar program in Fairfax County, it paled beside the courtesy she found with Bay Transit. “Every driver I’ve had has been very caring and went beyond the call of duty,” Harris says. “When a person with disabilities needs help, Bay Transit is very compassionate.”
Working with the local Health Department, Bay Transit also provides confidential, private transportation for those receiving care for HIV, AIDS and addiction treatment at no cost to the patient.
Pollock says that Bay Transit is part of Bay Aging’s mission to do everything possible so people can age in place independently. “Whether they’re unable, or just don’t want to drive, people need access to food and healthcare to maintain independence,” Pollock says. “We give people that power back.”
Chief Financial Officer Tinsley Goad sees Bay Aging as a “unicorn” with the heart of a nonprofit and the mind of a business. “Our goal is to engage the community, engage the philanthropists and secure funding for broad and disparate services,” he says. “By doing that, we continue to enhance our position as an agent for good in the community.”
Bay Aging Meals on Wheels and Other Services
Bay Aging I 800-493-0238 I bayaging.org
Bay Transit Ride Line I 877-869-6046 I baytransit.org
