Scituate Council on Aging launches memory cafe, Blue Zone series in January

SCITUATE — January 8, 2026 — Scituate Council on Aging opens 2026 with a packed winter calendar and federal funding concerns. Director Linda Hayes Kelly reported 470 transportation rides in December, including 118 medical out-of-town trips routed to the South Shore Community Action Council, and 24 new member registrations despite the quieter holiday month. The Together in Time memory cafe is set to launch January 23, with a Singo activity as its first event, modeled after a well-attended program in Norwell. Elder Services Coordinator Kenzie Vanderbrook told the board that state waiting lists remain active and federal Medicaid dollars have been reduced under the recently enacted federal budget law, though no Scituate residents are currently going without services. She noted that Massachusetts now requires caregivers to be licensed and that a new federal tax deduction for live-in caregivers could affect an estimated 1.8 million people nationally.