Shelter Island’s Health and Wellness Alliance seeks volunteers

Councilman Jim Colligan may be ending his time on the Town Board, but not, he said, his commitment to public service.

Mr. Colligan has been involved with the town’s Health and Wellness Alliance, which involves professionals and volunteers who dedicate their time and knowledge to identifying health issues affecting residents, and plans to continue working with the group.

It may be drug addiction or alcoholism, isolation leading to depression, dementia or any number of concerns the group works to address by linking people to resources that can be of assistance.

Mr. Colligan praised Police Chief Jim Read for the efforts he and his department members regularly make, contacting seniors living alone to check on their well-being.

The councilman called for more interaction with the Latino community, noting some don’t have childcare support allowing them to participate at meetings. Others don’t get involved in the wider community because of language difficulties and still others fear being rejected.

“We want kindness to be embraced,” Mr. Colligan said about members of the alliance. There are situations where people are “falling through the cracks” and the alliance works to identify needs not sufficiently met, or not met at all.

Mr. Colligan said he hopes town officials might be willing to support the effort by having its information technology group agree to create a website to serve the alliance.

That, of course, is a subject for the new Town Board that takes office on Jan. 1.