To get to Eugene and Hazel Henderson’s house in Barrington, you’ll have to take the well-traveled route 125 in New Hampshire, a road that weaves its way through the most populous centers in Strafford County. It’s the connective tissue of this area of the Granite State and the fact that the Hendersons - lifelong Stafford county residents (80-plus years and counting!) live right off this thoroughfare is apropos. This is their neck of the woods; this is their home.

The married couple keeps a cozy, clean home in their 55+ park. They are in their “his” and “hers” easy chairs, watching the evening newscast, their walkers by their side. This isn’t terribly surprising, considering Hazel is 87 and Eugene is 86. They certainly aren’t as agile as they used to be, but whatever physical capability has ebbed away over the decades the two are still as sharp as a tack.

They can reach back into their memories with ease to summon answers to the questions of how they first met (At a church youth group), how they recognized each other (Eugene’s aunt was Hazel’s best friend in school), and various anecdotes from the days working in the same shoe-making factory.

It is obvious: these are two older adults with diverse needs who need just some support to remain independent and in the home they have shared for the past 20 years.

And that makes them a perfect fit for Crotched Mountain Community Care (CMCC). As recipients of Crotched Mountain’s CFI (Choices for Independence) Case Management program, the Hendersons receive that support through their Crotched Mountain case manager, Nora.

“Our case managers are tireless advocates for their clients,” says Kara Nickulas, Executive Director of Adult Services for Crotched Mountain Foundation. “Staff like Nora bring compassion and expertise to their jobs every day all in support of people like the Hendersons who need that extra help to keep them in their homes and out of nursing homes.”

As their primary service coordinator, Nora conducts regular meetings to assess where Eugene and Hazel’s needs are. She then connects them to the various outside agencies who provide functions like housekeeping and physical therapy.

“Nora calls and checks on us,” Hazel says. “She wants to know if there's anything we need and to see how we're doing. It's a good, good organization.”

Throughout the years, the Hendersons have benefitted from home modifications, sourced through CMCC grants that are designated to enhance independence for CFI clients. This includes an accessible ramp, newly built to allow Hazel and Eugene to get in and out of their home, a near-impossibility when it was just steps.

Now, Hazel is able to stay active and walk throughout the park on warm days - a routine that she treasures and will happily do as long as she is able (“I just love to walk the park,” she says).

Recently, CMCC secured a life-changing support for the Hendersons: hearing aids. For a while, Eugene and Hazel were sharing one pair of hearing aids (one each). As you might imagine, this was not ideal and led to plenty of miscommunication and general discord.

“We just couldn’t hear each other,” Eugene says.

Through another CMCC grant, Nora arranged for two new - and complete! - sets of hearing aids for the couple. The difference in auditory function was such an improvement it was almost jarring, like emerging from a bubble filled with bus station loudspeaker static into a crystal clear hearing environment.

Staff like Nora bring compassion and expertise to their jobs every day all in support of people like the Hendersons who need that extra help to keep them in their homes and out of nursing homes.

“I could even hear Eugene walk across the floor to his desk,” Hazel says. “I said, ‘Oh my goodness, I hear your feet shuffle! He said, ‘As well you should!’”

That’s what it takes for the Hendersons to continue living their lives on their own terms, in their own home, in the community they have loved their entire lives. Just some support. Just some people like Nora and the other case managers to connect, to coordinate, to care.

Hear that? It’s the sweet sound of independence.