Social Connection Resources
Explore our range of resources designed to help you learn more about ways to stay socially connected, and to invite others to do the same.
Social Connection
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Web Sites
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Ideas
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Connections
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Communities
Social Connection ✳︎ Web Sites ✳︎ Ideas ✳︎ Connections ✳︎ Communities
The Community Connections program, a signature initiative of the Cabinet on Aging, was launched in 2024 in partnership with Maine’s Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), the University of Maine’s Center on Aging, and Maine’s Age Friendly communities. The pilot was designed to better align state, regional, and community efforts to improve the welfare of older adults by strengthening local capacity for outreach, relationship-building, and connection to services, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
As part of this initiative, twelve age-friendly pilot communities—from York to Caribou—established Community Connector roles. As trusted community members, Community Connectors help bridge access gaps and foster community engagement. While each program reflects local strengths and priorities, all share a common goal of supporting older adults to live comfortably and safely in their homes and communities
Age-Friendly is one of the most exciting developments of the 21st century! The term refers to intentional community efforts to make Maine’s cities and towns more responsive to longer, healthier lives and inclusive of people living with chronic illness or disability. Our shared mission is for communities where everyone can lead active, healthy, and engaged lives throughout their lifetime.
About 100 towns, cities, counties, regions, and the State of Maine have embraced the importance of shaping great places for people to age by joining the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.
Across Maine, grassroots, age-friendly initiatives, formal members of the AARP Network and others following a similar path, are leveraging local assets to build community capacity addressing challenges such as accessible spaces, access to technology, food security, home repair, transportation, and social connections. Volunteers and local organizations work closely with municipal government to make improvements that fit with the preferences and values of residents.
What makes a community age-friendly? Start by taking this quiz to learn how age-friendly your community already is. Interested in joining the Age-Friendly community movement? Learn how by visiting the Lifelong Maine Guide to Building Age-Friendly Communities.
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Are you interested in measuring social connection, social isolation, or loneliness in your work? Whether it is to evaluate the impact of your interventions or screen patients, there are a wide range of tools available to measure these concepts. Check out our Social Connection Measurement Tools Inventory below for information on 55+ measures, including target demographics, methods of measurement, research on psychometric properties, and more!
"Communication is merely an exchange of information, but connection is an exchange of our humanity."
Sean StephensonGet In Touch
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