Block Island Residents’ Association President Joe Loya joined the Senior Advisory Committee’s meeting on April 20 to discuss ways BIRA could support them. BIRA conducted a survey of island residents recently, confirming, among other things, that the island residents are aging and shifting the demographics ever upward. As Loya explained: “We have to recognize that the older crowd are not the ‘other.’ They are us, and we’re in it together.”SAC Co-chair Sandra Kelly mentioned the need to raise public awareness of how many people are in the senior age bracket, with needs that grow every year. Specifically, shediscussed the desire of seniors to stay on the island, with the ongoing need for caregiver support in order for people to stay in their own homes. Loya said he hopes the Block Island Residents Association can be a force to educate the public and influence awareness of the issues around aging.Committee member Dottie Graham proposed sending the SAC budget information to the BIRA board, along with the dream projects they’ve been waiting on for too many years, all the while advising and advising and advising.The budget report disclosed that the SAC funding from the State of Rhode Island has been
