Your help needed for elder wave

Are you a young adult, middle-aged, or older? What are your life circumstances? Are you able to live independently, or do you need help from others? Whatever your age and circumstances, your ideas and opinions are needed for a community planning initiative that will most certainly affect you personally sooner or later. There is state legislation now pending that will help Maine communities determine how we can both enhance quality of life for elders and create jobs for all Mainers.

Maine is a rural state in which independence is highly valued. Many of us live without close bonds to our neighbors, even when we live in fairly close proximity. But when we find ourselves in need of help due to accident, illness, or frailty, the independent character of Maine can turn into a formidable practical obstacle and bring about feelings of profound isolation.

Would you be able to live where you are if you could no longer drive? Do you have sufficient connections with your neighbors to help each other out if needed? How would you get food and do errands if you could not get around as you do now? Will you still be able to maintain the engagement with your community that you need for quality of life?

If you are concerned about these issues, either for yourself or for a loved one, friend, or neighbor, you are not alone. The state of Maine has an aging population. We are the “oldest” state; our median age of over 41 is the highest of any state in the country. As the baby boomer generation ages, it will present major challenges to communities in housing, transportation, health care delivery, and social services. This is an elder wave of vast proportions, and it is surely coming our way. Let’s not forget the lessons of Hurricane Katrina regarding the need for community planning. We can choose to either plan now or react, without proper planning, to the elder wave in just a few years.

Work has already started on this planning initiative. The pending legislation, “A Resolve to Support Community Planning for the Aging of the Population,” (LD 1661), grew out of the 2006 Blaine House Conference on Aging, which brought together 300 older persons from throughout the state. These delegates expressed the need for changes in how we develop policies and programs for older persons. The legislation would mandate that the state form an advisory group to study how communities in Maine can plan for the expanding elder population. Ultimately, this legislation aims to create communities with sufficient affordable housing, adequate transportation, and services needed to maintain elder independence and engagement in the community.

Our communities stand to gain economically from this planning effort. Business development and employment opportunities will be key components in the planning discussion. Services, housing, transportation, and information technologies are just a few of the sectors that are likely to benefit in communities that actively engage an aging population.

This planning effort will include a number of state agencies, community and economic development programs, citizen planning groups, the University of Maine System, and the University of Maine Center on Aging.

Please contact your state representative and state senator to express your support for LD 1661. We are all in this together. With good planning, we can create living environments that will enhance quality of life for older people. Let’s do this for ourselves, our families, our neighbors, and our communities.

Michele Garrity, Ronald J. Reid, Dyan Villeneuve and Mary Kellogg are students in the master’s program at the University of Maine School of Social Work.