Case Studies / Nonprofits & Human Services
Upper Shore Aging needed to decide where to focus services and partnerships across three counties. We used regional data, six listening sessions, and interviews to identify barriers and where agencies could work together.
Upper Shore Aging
Caroline, Kent, and Talbot counties, Maryland
Completed community needs assessment. Public report released in 2026.
Upper Shore Aging delivers meals, operates senior centers, and helps older adults find services. Its leadership needed to understand who was getting support and where people were being missed.
An older adult may qualify for a service and still have trouble getting to it or finding the right agency. Upper Shore Aging needed to know which barriers it could address and which called for work with other providers.
3counties covered
6community listening sessions
Evidence to help local agencies decide where to coordinate services.
Chris Wheedleton and Margaret Knudsen led the assessment for Rivers & Roads Consulting in partnership with Upper Shore Aging leadership. Our team designed the research, analyzed regional data, facilitated six listening sessions with older adults, interviewed local officials and service providers, and prepared the report.
Residents and providers described having to contact several agencies and repeat intake steps to get help. The assessment identified clearer referrals and better information sharing as practical options for Upper Shore Aging and its partners to consider.
“This Needs Assessment gives us a valuable roadmap as we continue serving seniors throughout the Upper Shore.”
Herb Cain, Executive Director, Upper Shore Aging
Upper Shore Aging published the completed assessment. It brings together county-level research and community input on transportation, housing, caregiver support, and access to benefits. The report gives local leaders and service providers a shared set of findings and options to use in planning.
Tell us what decisions the assessment needs to support. Sam Shoge, a partner at Rivers & Roads Consulting, reviews inquiries personally. On the first call, we’ll discuss what you already know, whose input you still need, and what your team and budget can support.
We’ll also talk through what we can handle, where we’ll need your team’s input, and what you’d need to see first to know the work is on track.
Have a formal RFP? Send it to [email protected].