After the Warwick AARP chapter closed, two residents took action and launched a community group for seniors. They envisioned a monthly meeting where elderly residents could voice their concerns and discuss possible solutions. But three years later, they are still hard at work recruiting people to attend the group meetings.

Charles Dress, 78, and Verteal “Vertie” Patterson, 72, began the AARP Warwick community group in 2013. Patterson was an active member of the city chapter and was asked to take over after one chair retired and another died. At one time, Warwick had one of the state’s largest chapters, but the group was losing participation and lacked leadership. Patterson did not want to be the ringleader alone, so she partnered with Dress and the two became co-chairs of the new community group. Several successful meetings were organized, including a meet and greet event with Gina Raimondo while she was running for governor. Last year, the monthly meetings consistently drew groups of 20 to 25 people, some regulars and some new faces depending on topics of discussion or guest speakers.

Now Patterson and Dress are reaching out to the community for more participation.

“We are looking for people in Warwick that want to get involved in their city and speak out on interests to make Warwick a better place to live and bring up their families,” Dress wrote in an email.

As an advocate for the senior community, Dress has heard concerns about issues such as wheelchair accessibility, rapid emergency notification systems, and affordable housing. However, he has noticed that people who share these concerns are not willing to come together for discussion.

“We should be fixing problems instead of just complaining,” said Dress.

Inspired by the active community of seniors in Florida, Dress encourages fellow Warwick residents to come to the group meetings to voice their opinions. The community group will also help participants communicate with elected officials, state representatives and the Department of Elderly Affairs.

After 15 years as an active AARP member, Patterson also sees a lack of participation and wants more members to be active in their state chapters. She works with Dress to spread the word about the community group meetings with flyers and posts on Warwick-based Facebook pages. They also contact local church groups and set up informational tables at busy places, like Oakland Beach during the summer.

“It may not be a big crowd,” said Patterson. “But if I got ten or fifteen people it would be good. That’s a start.”

Most of the group’s regular participants are younger, newly retired residents who want to stay active in their community and relay their concerns to city representatives. But Patterson encourages everyone to get involved.

“I’d like to get the people who stay at home and say they have nothing to do more involved at the senior centers,” she said. “It’s a good way for them to be around someone during the day.”

The next AARP community group meeting will be on June 27 at the Buttonwood Community Center from 10 to 11:30 a.m. All community group meetings are open to the public, including all age groups and residents from any town.