Social services

Brookline Hearing Services

The staff from Brookline Hearing Services will be coming to the Senior Center on the 3rd Thursday of each from 1:30-2:30 pm. They will provide hearing aid cleanings, maintenance, and patient counseling at no charge. They will also be selling all sizes of hearing aid batteries for $5 per pack. All services will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Equipment Loan Fund (E.L.F.)

The Brookline Senior Center has lots of medical equipment and other gear that we are trying to give away! Anyone is eligible to take what they need from our stockpile for any reason. Please call 617-730-2752 to ask about what is available.

Current stock includes walkers, shower chairs, tub benches, packages of Depends and pads, wheelchairs, rollators, canes, commodes, raised toilet seats, hearing aid batteries, and so much more. This month’s special “equipment of the month” is bed rails! For more information, please visit our Equipment Loan Fund (E.L.F.) Page.

File of Life

Forms that tell first responders how to help. You carry one and the other is on the refrigerator. For more information, please contact Ruth Brenner at (617) 730- 2777.

Metrowest Legal Services Legal Clinic

Schedule a private, FREE half-hour legal PHONE consultation on the last Thursday of each month from 12:00‐4:00 pm. MetroWest Legal Services provides free legal aid to seniors on housing, public benefits, and social security matters; durable power of attorney, health care proxy, and simple probate matters; Medicaid, nursing home issues, limited domestic relations; consumer and bankruptcy.

*Please note for registration that sharing a one-or-two word subject matter will help the attorney in her preparations and this information will remain absolutely confidential. To schedule your telephone consultation, contact Jamie Jensen at 617-730-2753 or  jjensen@brooklinema.gov

Podiatry Clinic

Routine foot care (nail trim, callous trim) with Dr. John McLoughlin, is available at the Senior Center. The cost is $40.00. Dr. McLoughlin does not bill insurance. To inquire about appointments, please call 617-730-2777.

Retirement Engagement Alternatives Program (REAP)

REAP (Retirement Engagement Alternative Program) is designed for Brookline residents aged 60 and older who wish to remain engaged and active in the community while in retirement or partial retirement. Limited additional program opportunities may also be available for individuals aged 55-60.

The goal of this program is to enhance the retirement experience by connecting participants with either part-time paid or volunteer work in the community or at the Brookline Senior Center.

SHINE

The SHINE (Serving the Health Needs of Everyone) program continues to be very helpful to its participants! For example, here is a SHINE success story:

One phone call saved a Brookline senior $581 in drug costs. Rose P (not her real name) called SHINE in April to see if she could enroll in a cheaper Medicare Part D drug plan. She was paying a premium of $64.70 a month and was taking nine medications. It turned out that Rose was qualified to join a drug plan for $0 a month and eligible to change plans outside normal enrollment periods.

With a few clicks of the keyboard, a Shine counselor enrolled Rose in the new plan, effective May 1. Had she stayed in her previous plan, her total cost for prescriptions – premiums plus copays – would have been $802. Under the new plan, her total cost will just be the copays. For the remainder of the year, they will total $221.

Shine volunteers offer services year-round. If you think you’re overpaying for drug and medical services under Medicare, make an appointment. You never know, you might save hundreds of dollars! Please register for an appointment at 617-730-2777.

VIBRANT Assistive Technology Program

The Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (MABVI) is proud to offer the VIBRANT Assistive Technology program in partnership with the Centers on Aging and the Brookline Senior Center. VIBRANT is assistive technology guidance that empowers you.

If you are losing your vision, we provide applied instruction on current technologies to help you accomplish your everyday goals. This specialized assistive technology training can help with reading, walking, personal finance, and more. Anyone with low vision or blindness is welcome, as well as those interested in how we are serving the spectrum of vision loss.

In-person lessons at the Senior Center are on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons; remote training is also available. If you are interested, call Rachel Castle at 617-608-4150, or email rcastle@mabcommunity.org. We look forward to working with you soon!