SOUTHAMPTON — Kate DiSanto has been a humanitarian at heart from the beginning, and now she is taking that attribute into her new role as the permanent director of Southampton’s Council on Aging.
DiSanto was voted into the new role by the town’s Select Board after the COA’s previous interim director Deborah Radway stepped down for personal reasons.
A resident of Southampton since 2021, DiSanto first joined the town’s COA staff in November 2022 as a volunteer coordinator before becoming an outreach coordinator and a counselor for the Serving the Health Insurance Needs of Everyone program in town.
“I’ve been in Southampton for almost two full years, which is fantastic,” DiSanto said. “I’ve loved every step of it.”
The SHINE counselor position was created thanks to American Rescue Plan Act funds from state Sen. John Velis (D-Westfield). Under this program, DiSanto helps provide free health insurance information, counseling and assistance for people who are eligible for Medicare.
Now that she is the new COA director, DiSanto said it will be easier to dedicate even more time to that important program since she will not be working in a part-time capacity anymore. She noted how the program is crucial for a town like Southampton where around 2,000 people out of a population of a little over 6,000 are 60 years and older.
“The SHINE and the Medicare component is huge for a majority of our population, including folks in surrounding towns,” DiSanto said. “So that’ll be, I think, an added benefit … we’ll have somebody, or I’ll be able to work more on that and focus on that as opposed to just like designating two days a week for that.”
DiSanto said the town was also lucky enough to land two grant awards last year through the Massachusetts Council on Aging to help fund outreach and their Memory Café program through the COA.
She said the Memory Café program in particular has been a “fantastic” attraction for seniors to experience informational talks or other forms of entertainment, both in-person or over Zoom if they so wish.
“We have that foundational technology component that we did not have before,” DiSanto said. “If folks might be having a rough morning or they might not be able to have the accessibility to come to the building, having the Zoom option will allow them to connect with the COA and the entertainment and the programming that we offer.”
DiSanto said that the hope is to continue those programs as well as upgrade some aspects of the COA. Specifically, she said that the town was granted a Senior Center Modernization Grant for this upcoming year which will be used for purchasing a portable looping system to assist folks with hearing needs a bit better as well as more televisions for the COA and updated signage.
She is also receiving training to become a Department of Transitional Assistance outreach partner, which means the Southampton COA will eventually be a hub for people who are applying for or need access to SNAP-related benefits.
“We just want to move forward in a positive direction,” DiSanto said. “We’re continuing to grow every year.”
Before settling into Southampton, DiSanto used to volunteer at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke in high school before receiving her degree in social services. Like most families, she said hers had to reset during the coronavirus pandemic period, but once her family moved to Southampton, she said she knew she was in the right place.
“It’s been such a perfect opportunity because I love helping people, and I love being a resource for people,” she said. “So, coming here and having it be so close to home and the members and the people that come into the center, it’s so fantastic. We have a great board; we have great volunteers, and our staff is awesome. I love them.”
