AMHERST – The Amherst Neighbors Board will be hosting their first fall celebration event virtually on Oct. 31 from 1 to 3:30 p.m., titled “Aging in Community: What It Takes.”

The young, nonprofit, volunteer-based organization that “builds neighbor to neighbor connections with older adults” for Amherst and Pelham launched at the beginning of the pandemic and currently has over 200 members.

Speakers attending the virtual event will be Dr. Pat Romney, state Rep. Mindy Domb, and state Sen. Jo Comerford, who will speak on equity, community-building, and legislation as they support aging well. The focus will be on the group’s work and how to equitably and fairly offer the services to those interested in being a part of the group. The Amherst Area Gospel Choir will be proving music during the event.

Taking inspiration from the work done by Northampton Neighbors group and the statewide movement of the Village-to-Village network, whose work mentors communities in developing support for older adults, the Amherst neighbors’ group was founded after members  attending a Northampton neighbors meeting and considered the concept beneficial for their own community.

Amherst Neighbors serves as a peer-to-peer support organization and all services are provided by the volunteers that make up the group. Linda Terry, now coordinator of the Amherst Neighbors, joined the group shortly after that meeting in 2018.

“I said yes without thinking twice. I thought it was just the right thing I wanted to contribute to and be part of,” said Terry. “We called ourselves a kitchen-table operation at that point.”

The group was prepared to launch in 2020 to announce their arrival and recruit interested community members, but due to COVID-19, this was postponed. Now almost a year and a half later, the group is attempting to bring together the community to share what has been accomplished by Amherst Neighbors and celebrate what has been built to this point.

Something that has inspired a number of those in the group is the book, “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande, a book that discusses aging and looking at it through a different perspective than the status quo. Amherst neighbors embodies this as they provide a community and support for the older adult population who are aging and show them there is a silver lining when they could be discouraged in aging.

“It changes the perspective on aging from one of kind of this downward spiral where you’re just fragile and not very confident, to a viewpoint of what do people have to contribute and how do we take advantage of what people have to offer at this stage of life as well as aging well and enjoyably,” said Terry.

The group hopes that the event can lead to more members joining and see the benefits for older adults through bringing together that community.

“The heart of our mission statement is that we are building neighbor to neighbor connections for both social and practical purposes. There is a reality, we’re not denying that as people get older there are challenges coming along,” Terry said. “For many people, challenges also breed some increased isolation and need for some support and companionship and services. But the idea is that’s balanced also with what people can contribute and offer and enjoy. We are about people helping each other and enjoying each other and building connections in ways you might not be able to on your own."

You can register for the Zoom event at https://tinyurl.com/anfallcelebration.