COA director Diane Tynan an advocate, friend to Canton’s senior community

Editor’s note: The following is a continuation of a series of occasional spotlights on Canton’s town employees, conceived as a way to honor the important work of our many public servants, a number of whom rarely, if ever, get the recognition they deserve. This week we are proud to introduce our readers to Diane Tynan, director of the Canton Council on Aging.

Diane Tynan

As the needs of Canton’s senior community have evolved over the last two decades, Diane Tynan’s job with the town’s Council on Aging has likewise evolved. What was once a part-time coordinator’s position when she began working for the COA in 1992 has now turned into a full-time director’s role 18 years later.

“Initially, councils on aging were social centers,” Tynan said, “and over the years they have evolved to more like service centers where people could come for help as well as for problems they may encounter.”

“A lot of people who aren’t familiar with council on aging think of it as ‘all they do is play bingo,’” Tynan continued. “So my favorite caption is ‘it’s not just bingo — it’s so much more.’”

Canton has a senior population — defined as those 60 years of age and older — of 4,600 according to Tynan, and that figure is only expected to grow in the coming years. The COA has over 2,200 people in its database.

The COA offers a variety of services and programs for the senior community, ranging from health screenings for blood pressure or diabetes to assistance with filing taxes. But the service or cause Tynan holds “closest to her heart” is providing transportation for Canton’s seniors.

The COA provides transportation services five days a week. Tynan said one of the most difficult things she has dealt with over the years is to see a senior with a serious health issue struggle to find a way to get to his or her various medical appointments.

She said that by providing a transportation service, she hopes these seniors are “able to focus more on their illness and getting better than on how they’re going to get to an appointment or maybe even have to miss appointments because they don’t have transportation there.”

But while there has been an added emphasis on providing social services since Tynan started working with the COA, this is not to say social activities — like bingo — have taken a back seat. The COA offers classes in line dancing, yoga and strength training, for example, and has had various holiday get-togethers.

“The social activity is very important; nobody should have to be alone,” Tynan said. “In today’s world, families are very busy raising their own families, so it’s nice that seniors have a place to turn where they can develop and maintain their own friendships and have their own social activities.”

One of Tynan’s most important roles is to serve as an advocate for senior citizens. Part of what helps her do this has been her ability to form relationships with the senior community. When the COA holds an event, Tynan said she likes to play the role of hostess, making sure everyone attending is having a good time.

“I think the more people feel comfortable with you, the more people will … trust you [and] come to you when they’re having a problem,” Tynan said. “It’s easier to go to somebody who is a familiar, friendly face.”

Whether it’s schmoozing with seniors at a COA activity or helping someone get through a difficult time in his or her life, Tynan said her favorite aspect of the job has been forming lasting relationships with members of the senior community.

“Many of these people have been mentors to me,” she said.

Tynan, now 42, has spent much of her adult life with the COA, having started working there when she was 24. She credits her parents, Richard and Theresa Tynan, both still Canton residents, for her “caring attitude.”

Born and raised in Canton, she is another graduate from the class of 1985 (Fontbonne Academy) that has gone on to hold leadership positions within the town, a group that includes Selectman and state senate candidate Bob Burr, Fire Chief Charlie Doody, and police lieutenants Helena Findlen and Patty Sherrill, among others. Tynan now lives in Stoughton with her two children, Christine, 13, and Joseph, 9, but says her “heart is in Canton and it always has been.”

Reluctant to take full credit for what the COA does, Tynan wanted to acknowledge her hardworking staff, bus drivers and other volunteers.

“It’s a team effort,” she said, “and everybody on my team cares about the seniors in our community — and not just the seniors, but the whole population.”

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Posted by Jeffrey Pickette on Jun 17 2010. Filed under Features, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.