NORTHAMPTON — If Mayor David J. Narkewicz has his way, a Northampton native who’s just returned from working a decade in Ireland will be the city’s new director of senior services.
Narkewicz on Wednesday announced Linda Desmond — a 66-year-old Florence resident, former city councilor and United Way executive — as his pick to succeed Patricia Shaughnessy, who is retiring after about 15 years at the helm of the Senior Center.
The City Council will take up Desmond’s appointment at its July 14 meeting, with the recommendation moving to a committee.Then in August, the respective committee and council votes will take place simultaneously.
Desmond recently returned from a 10-year stint in North Dublin, Ireland, where she served as regional program director for Crosscare, a social support agency. Desmond has roughly four decades of experience in elder and social services.
She will begin work as acting director Monday, according to the mayor’s office.
On Thursday, Desmond fielded a half-dozen questions from her local newspaper. Here, in mildly edited form, is the conversation:
GAZETTE: What is one thing you’re most looking forward to if you are confirmed?
DESMOND: I’ve developed a really strong skill set after 40 years of working with older people. It’s very exciting to get to come back to my home community and incorporate that skill set into a strong service base. It’s funny because I actually started my career about 10 feet from the center at the Walter Salvo House in my 20s.
GAZETTE: The biggest potential challenge in the job?
DESMOND: The biggest challenge is that there’s different needs and different goals to reach for each cohort of older people. Each one of those cohorts have a whole different range of needs. So how to meet the needs of each one of the age ranges (is the most challenging).
GAZETTE: How might the skills gained in your time on the City Council translate into the new position?
DESMOND: Well, I know a lot of people. When you’re developing programs and services in a community, and you know the community and the community trusts you, then all sorts of good things can happen. And I didn’t really have that benefit in Ireland.
So a number of people have already approached me saying ‘Linda, I want to volunteer now.’ I get very excited about doing new activities. So we might do something with competitive sports for people over 55. And I would love to work with the recreational department and approach other communities to compete.
So utilizing the good program base that other city offices have is wonderful. Being in politics, I got to know the departments and what they did, as well as key players in the city. That’s especially important when you need to advocate for older people.
GAZETTE: Why did you decide to return to Northampton from Dublin?
DESMOND: Both my husband (Dennis, 63) and I feel that this is home. He didn’t grow up here, but he has a very strong connection to Northampton as well. There was not a hesitation to return home. We knew we needed to return to Northampton. I spent so much time in Dublin telling people how great my hometown is … I feel the last 10 years have been a gift, and I want to bring that gift back to the community that I never stopped loving.
GAZETTE: If you were a kitchen appliance, what would you be and why?
DESMOND: A stove. It’s really important for me to bring comfort to people. It provides food, and it provides an atmosphere of warmth. Can you imagine what our lives would be if we did not have a stove? You need that support, and you need the warmth that a stove provides. From a social perspective, there are so many people out there that need that warmth. I’m a warm person.
GAZETTE: What would you like people to know about the center and this job?
DESMOND: First of all, let me applaud what the previous directors have done. They’ve created a beautiful center, and they’ve reached out into the community. I want to continue on that, but I also feel I want to do newer and exciting things because that’s what I do. I want (people) to know this is a wonderful place to grow old in, and I know we can do it. There’s no doubt in my mind that we can achieve that.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.