Council on Aging hears focus-group findings, previews Catch Connect launch

SUDBURY -- June 17, 2024, Sudbury Council on Aging revisits 2021 focus groups as Catch Connect on-demand van prepares to launch July 1. Former board member Sandy Lasky, a market researcher now living in Hopkinton, told the June 17 meeting that non-users had described the old senior center as "depressing and old and tired" and pushed for active, member-organized programming over top-down offerings. Director Debra Galloway reported 452 new participants and 1,440 distinct individuals served since the new Fairbank Community Center opened, with 77 percent from Sudbury. Transportation Committee member Bob Lieberman said Catch Connect will run noon to 6 p.m. weekdays within Sudbury, free in July and August under an extended MassDOT fare-free initiative, then $2 per one-way ride; an Aug. 1 hospital shuttle will connect Sudbury through Wayland to Newton-Wellesley and Longwood. Lieberman said taxi-program costs have been running near $10,000 a month. Select Board liaison Lisa Kouchakdjian attended her first meeting.