Boston, Massachusetts Assisted Living Facilities & Senior Care

Phone: 781-622-5979

Report suspected abuse by calling 800-677-1116

(866) 333-6550

Who we work with & why

We received a question today through our site - "Do you know of any facilities in the Boston MA area?" Normally, I would just advise someone to go look at our appropriate city page (Boston) to see the facilities in that area, but I realized today that we didn't have a page for Boston! Oops!

So, we have now created one, which is a good thing since Boston has a great number of older adults, as well as a robust mix of offerings, services, and programs for local area seniors.

One of the more prominent groups in the Boston area is the "Commission on Affairs of the Elderly" which operates to "enhance the quality of life for Boston's senior citizens through planning, coordinating, and monitoring the delivery of services to the elderly in an efficient and effective manner." We found this information on the Elderly Affairs page on the City of Boston website.

There is quite a bit of good information to be found here, including a calendar of events for local seniors in Boston, announcements, as well as a .pdf version of Boston Seniority Magazine, which offers coverage of local news, events, volunteer and work opportunities, and much more for Boston Seniors.

In addition, the Elderly Affairs section offers information on the local Area Agency on Aging for Boston, Service Opportunities, Important Phone numbers, as well as Direct Services offered by the Elderly Affairs office.

We wanted to elaborate further on the services and programs offered by the Elderly Affairs department for the City of Boston:

We love cities with good, helpful, and informative websites. The City of Boston is no exception, and it has an excellent section for it's Commission on Elderly Affairs, and related programs, agencies and services. We found this page pretty easily - in a search, we simply typed "Boston MA Agency on Aging" and the first result came up with the City of Boston's website.

The Commission on Elderly Affairs site is here.

There are numerous items found within the Commission on Affairs of the Elderly section that are extremely useful to local Boston-area seniors.

Firstly, information about the Area Agency on Aging for Boston, which is actually referred to as the Council on Aging (COA) for the City of Boston.. This agency, as with all other agencies in Massachusetts and Boston, were established under the Older Americans Act (OAA) in 1973. This was in response to the growing needs of seniors (those over the age of 60) in every local community. Most agencies on aging cover large areas, and often time overlap into numerous counties and communities. The goal of the Council on Aging is to promote 'the active involvement of seniors in the life and health of their neighborhoods in conjunction with Mayors Advisory Council.'

Funding for Agencies on Aging, or Commissions on Aging comes in-part from the Older American Act, which allows agencies to offer programs such as: Long-term care Ombudsman (a voice, or advocate for seniors); Nutrition Services; Health Services including disease prevention and health support; caregiver support services.

There are a number of Direct services offered by the City of Boston's Elderly Commission. To be eligible, the age requirement is 60 and older. Examples of some of the programs and services offered are: S.S.I, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Veteran's Benefits, and more! To find out more about the programs offered, please call (617) 635-4366.

Housing is another area where the Commission can help seniors in the Boston area. Seniors, at times, may not be able to take care of home repairs, evictions, or know what their rights are as tenants The Housing Unit can provide information and referral, as well as direct assistance in numerous areas relevant to housing. The Housing Unit can also provide referral for nursing homes and assisted living in Boston.

Another area that seniors may need extra help is with Transportation Many seniors may have vision problems, or a health condition that will make it impossible for them to provide their own transportation. The City of Boston's Elderly Affairs department can help by providing a senior shuttle, which provides free transportation in Boston to routine medical appointments, grocery shopping, as well as special events. To find out more about the Senior Shuttle program in Boston, including hours of operation and eligibility requirements, please call (617) 635-3000.

The City of Boston also provides a meal/nutrition service for it's senior residents and. There are around 40 congregate lunch sites throughout the city. Suggested donations are accepted for meals ($1.75). In addition, there is a Meals on Wheels program that can deliver nutritious meals to seniors who are homebound due to an illness or health condition, and other issues and conditions. To find out more about all of services provided by the Elderly Nutrition program , please visit the Nutrition Services page here. For the Meals on Wheels program, there is a drop-down menu that allows users to choose their neighborhood to find the phone number and contact information for the Meals on Wheels Coordinator for that neighborhood.

Another extremely important segment to the Elderly Affairs program is it's Caregiver Support Services, which exists to provide assistance to those individuals who provides care or assistance to a child, or adult. Assistance can be in the form of shopping, personal care and hygiene, financial assistance, or even home maintenance to an elderly relative, friend, or neighbor. Caregiver Support can also come in many forms, including information and referral, adult day care, workshops, and help with solving problems. Caregivers are often the 'unsung heroes' in a community, and are also many times unaware of the services, help, and support that is available to the by the city, and the local Agency on Aging.

Whether you, a friend, or a family member living in the Boston Area resides in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or independently at home, there are many wonderful and helpful services available to you within the Elderly Affairs Division. The Elderly Affairs division's address is 1 City Hall Square, Room 271, Boston, MA 02201-2010. The main phone number is 617-635-4366.