Agency on Aging Receives National Recognition

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) - A local agency is getting national recognition. The Aroostook Agency on Aging has been awarded the 2026 Aging Achievement Award from USAging, beating out agencies from across the country.

For two years, the Aroostook Agency on Aging has been building their Access Points Initiative. The initiative has expanded services across the county, and now that work is earning national attention. The agency was awarded the 2026 Aging Achievement Award at the USAging conference in California, recognized among agencies from across the U.S. for their hard work.

Chris Beaulieu, the Aroostook Agency on Aging’s Program & Service Director said: “All the access points are at public sites and that can be a library, or rec center, municipal buildings. Access points have been very important, and they’ve played a big role for a lot of people. Having 21 across the county and we provide services through them and even at them. Clients can go to those sites and take part in activities, and support groups, or different trainings without having to go far from home and so that’s one of the biggest pieces that have shown to be real helpful for folks.”

Beaulieu says the award is all thanks to the team behind the initiative. “The staff that put that project together have done a great job. It took a lot of coordination and a lot of communication with all those towns and there was organizations that help us put it on.”

At the conference, Beaulieu presented the Access Points initiative, hoping it will help inspire other agencies across the country to launch similar programs. For more information on the Aroostook Agency on Aging’s Access Point Initiative visit aroostookaging.org