As interdependent as our world has become, we all like to maintain a degree of independence in our daily lives. This is especially so as we enter our senior years.

That is why the town of North Hempstead has embarked on an ambitious initiative to expand a pilot program designed to help seniors maintain their autonomy and independence while living in their homes that in the majority of cases have become empty nests.

The endeavor, Project Independence, was the subject of a testimony I delivered recently at a hearing in front of the Nassau County Legislature's Committee on Aging.

A number of professionals with expertise in geriatric-related areas, including providers of mental and physical health and social service providers, spoke at the May 5 inquiry.

One of them, Nassau County's Commissioner of Senior Citizens Affairs Sharon Mullon, shed light on some statistics that underscores the dire need for efforts like Project Independence.

Based on the 2000 census, some 257,000 people 60 and older - about 19.3 percent of the total population - reside in Nassau County. Projections are those numbers will climb to about 284,000 by 2015, Mullon said.

And while Nassau's total population is expected to drop 2.6 percent by 2015, she noted, the 60 and older population is expected to climb by 11 percent. At the same time, the 85-plus group is projected to increase by 5 percent.

Nearly two of every three Americans would prefer to receive care at home, Mullon pointed out.

Clearly then, community-based care is not only highly desirable but is more cost-effective. It's far less costly, for example, to deliver services, medical assistance and even meals to seniors in their homes than to pay the cost of institutionalization.

Project Independence, which began three years ago as a pilot project serving two census tracts in the New Hyde Park area, is supported, in part, by funding from the town and in-kind services provided by F.E.G.S. Health and Human Services System and North Shore/LIJ Health Systems.

Through the program, seniors have been able to access myriad services, including health care monitoring and screening, dental checkups and x-rays, connections to benefits and transportation services, counseling and assistance with nutrition, as well as home maintenance.

Now, following in the wake of the pilot program's success, I have embarked on an effort to take Project Independence town-wide.

As I testified before the Nassau Legislature's Committee on Aging, there are no shortages of senior services and programs out there - the federal government's Freedom Initiative and the state's New York Connect comes to mind - but accessing them is often problematic.

So to help seniors tap into the broad network of services and providers available, we have linked Project Independence to the town's 311 Call Center. Whatever your need or concern, just call the 311. Your query will then be fed to experts in the specific area of interest and a response will be expeditiously relayed to you.

I happen to be a strong proponent of partnerships, one of the key pillars of this administration. That is why I strongly believe that the marriage of 311 with Project Independence will connect our seniors and their families to local service providers in a manner previously difficult to achieve. This, I believe, is how government is supposed to work.