We need to Ease the Squeeze on our seniors, the fastest growing demographic group in Montgomery County. District 1 is the most expensive district in the County, with the highest proportion of seniors, so it is particularly important to ensure we provide the programs and services our seniors need to be valued members of our community, while affording opportunities for them to age in place.

Far too many of our seniors live in isolation, creating serious public safety, mental and physical health challenges that may be out of sight but shouldn’t be out of the minds of county leaders. The Council, relevant county agencies, and affected stakeholders must work together to assess our success in implementing the County Executive’s Three Year Strategic Plan so we can determine how well we’re doing and how we can improve services and programs for our growing senior population.

Promoting Inclusion & Intergenerational Programming

Towards this goal, I am a strong proponent of the Villages Program to foster social connections through a neighbor-to-neighbor model of local, volunteer-led organizations that support community members who have chosen to age-in-place. The county can and should help expand and enhance this program by partnering with and supporting each village, and by helping the villages to connect with each other. I strongly support an inter-generational approach to best utilize the skills, involvement and knowledge that our seniors can provide to younger community members, and also to build a more effective, inclusive, and cohesive community. This model is what I see as the Montgomery Way – bringing everyone together from faith-based and non-profit organizations, to county government and businesses to build a livable, accessible, and inclusive community built on the collective strength and value of every individual.

Leveraging Community Resources

We can make better use of our existing public and community resources including community centers, regional service centers, schools, libraries and religious institutions to provide cost-free space and more continuous programming to engage and involve community members in their retirement years. With the new Montgomery County 50+ Volunteer Network, we have an opportunity to improve the way we connect seniors to volunteer opportunities to utilize the tremendous skills and volunteer potential we have right here in our community. I spent my early childhood accompanying my mom, a former MCPS teacher and longtime PTA President, for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) she started at Wayside Elementary. Each Friday, residents came from a local senior living facility to serve as reading specialists in the classrooms, providing teachers with support, with help, and the volunteers with a meaningful activity each week. These are the type of grassroots, volunteer-led programs that we can do a better job promoting, supporting, and expanding as a county.

Supporting Aging-in-Place

Similarly, we can find win-win opportunities like accessory apartments, which help seniors to generate income from their biggest financial asset, their homes, while helping to solve our affordable housing crisis. Accessory apartments are one of many ways we can solve the cost-of-living issues facing our young adult population and our senior population in tandem.

Design for Life Montgomery is also a good way to encourage building and renovating homes that are designed to enable residents the opportunity to age in place, which should be promoted and expanded. We also must emphasize pedestrian safety and mobility access as a county and community to help those who are aging in place to be and to feel safe when they leave their homes for the attractive programs and activities they have to enjoy.

As District 1’s County Councilmember, I will take the lead in ensuring that we are continuously improving, expanding, and enhancing our programs and support for seniors, and I will work every day to help those who choose to age in place to do so with the comfort, dignity, and fulfillment they deserve.