The Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living, formerly the Island Council on Aging, mapped out a plan to strengthen its programs — and locate a permanent home for them — at its annual meeting last week.

The 25-year-old Islandwide committee changed its name this year. With the streamlining of its identity and purpose established, Center for Living director Leslie Clapp would like to settle one of its most important programs, the supportive day program, in a new home. The program changes its location from day to day: Edgartown on Mondays and Wednesdays, Tisbury on Tuesdays and Fridays. “We don’t really have a place to anchor ourselves,” said Ms. Clapp. “We have to bounce back and forth.”

So the board agreed to consult with realtors and the wider community about housing options before meeting again in February. “It’s kind of urgent, so [we want] to move ahead as quickly as we can,” said Ms. Clapp.

The Center for Living’s own plans are growing as elderly population increases on Martha’s Vineyard. The greying demographic trend is clearly spelled out in two reports from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.

The Island Plan notes that, “By 2020, the year-round population between the ages of 60 and 70 will triple. A significant increase of seasonal residents moving here to retire would further increase that number.”

An economic profile of the Vineyard, compiled for the commission by consultant John Ryan, forecasts that the number of senior-aged Vineyard citizens will rise from 2,600 to 4,700 between 2007 and 2020.

And while the concentration of elderly citizens is rising throughout the country, on the Island it is growing even faster, due mainly to the high cost of living here; prohibitively high housing costs have essentially stopped in-migration to the Island and reduced the number of young working families, according to Mr. Ryan.

“This aging population will add to the community’s knowledge and creative talent base, while placing greater demands on health and human services,” says the Island Plan.

Ms. Clapp says the surge in the elderly population is going to last for 10 to 20 years. “We need to be aware that this is a huge population . . . We’re just beginning that bubble, really.”

The board has begun developing measurable goals for it’s services, including the supportive day program.

Supportive day targets people who may be unsafe or would suffer from social isolation if left home alone. Participants choose between a full-day program, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., or a half-day, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The schedule changes daily, but always begins with a coffee and social hour. The rest of the day often plays out like a day camp for the elderly. Activities include arts and crafts projects, games or trivia, and exercise programs such as modified yoga or stretching. Both half- and full-day members are served lunch, and afterwards can usually look forward to a special guest.

“We have folks from the outside come in,” said Ms. Clapp. People with exotic travel experiences, wildlife experts from Felix Neck, and even students musicians from the Island schools come in to entertain participants.

“We’re working on intergenerational interaction which helps keep the 55 plus [population] younger,” said board member Nancy Cabot.

Participants are served a snack just before the Vineyard Transit Authority comes to take everyone home. “In a lot of places, transportation is extra and is paid for extra. We’re really lucky to have that as part of our program,” said Ms. Clapp.

The success of the program is obvious in the numbers. “In 2009 we served 39 clients in the [Supportive Day] program,” said Ms. Clapp. “It’s extremely popular.” With a client to staff ratio of 4 to 1, the level of care offered to day program participants is better than most in Massachusetts. The state requires a ratio of 8 to 1. “People who come to that program are well cared for,” said Ms. Clapp.

This is good news not only for participants, but for family members as well. “The day program provides a safe daily resource for friendships, for activities, [and] for folks to be cared for,” said Ms. Clapp. “And their families can go about their day and know that their loved ones are in good hands.”

Despite a dedicated staff, the day program is struggling to maintain the daily shift in location. Two days a week the program operates out of the Anchors in Edgartown; two other days it moves to the Tisbury senior center.

One of the center’s long-term goals, introduced at the meeting, is to secure a permanent location for the program; the immediate plan is to reach out to the community for help and ideas for possible housing options.

“We want to be clear about what it is that we expect to accomplish so that we have a community that will support our expectations,” said communications committee chairman Karen Achille. Board members said they have no assumptions about the outcome but do hope to have solid leads formed by the time the board meets again in February.

Other Center for Living services include Medical Taxi, a transportation network on the Cape that takes Islanders to and from doctor appointments, and emergency food cupboards which are served through different town-level councils on aging. Also the center holds a monthly luncheon at the high school hosted by culinary arts students.

The Center for Living, established as an Edgartown program in 1985, has depended mainly on town contributions and grant funding to support its growth over the years. Now an Island-wide committee, the Center joins forces with individual town councils on aging and other agencies that cater to the elderly in order to ensure the best service and support for the over-55 population.

“It’s a very old program, really. It’s kind of been quietly growing for many, many years,” said Ms. Clapp.

“The name is new. What we do is not new,” said Ms. Cabot.

“Caregiving is very hard work, but it’s joyful work,” said Ms. Clapp. “You give yourself up for others, all day every day. [We are] entrusted with the care of very special people.”