AUGUSTA — House Speaker Mark Eves is leading a group of Mainers who are in Washington, D.C., early this week to drum up support to address challenges facing Maine because its senior population is growing so fast.
Eves is scheduled to meet with White House staffers and all four members of Maine’s congressional delegation to talk about his KeepME Home initiatives, legislation he’s developing that would increase affordable housing options, property tax credits and home care services for seniors.
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Eves said he’s also looking for ways that Maine can maximize federal dollars and leverage federal programs to help seniors live independently longer.
“I hope to develop long-term partnerships with our congressional delegation so we can speak with one loud voice and demonstrate that Maine is a leader when it comes to acting on aging issues,” said Eves, D-North Berwick.
With Eves are leading experts on aging in Maine, including Jess Maurer, executive director of the Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging and co-chairwoman of the Maine Council on Aging; Jeff Hecker, provost at the University of Maine; and Steve Pound, who heads Cianbro’s workforce development efforts.
Eves and the council hosted a series of round-table talks on aging issues last fall, followed in January by the Maine Summit on Aging, which attracted more than 370 people from across the state.
Maine is the oldest state based on median age (43.5 years) and the second-oldest based on the proportion of people 65 and older (17 percent), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Florida is No. 1, with 18.2 percent.
Maine also has the highest proportion of baby boomers – 29 percent of its 1.3 million residents were born in the period from 1946 to 1964. By 2030, more than 25 percent of Mainers will be 65 or older.
An ongoing Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram investigative series, The Challenge of Our Age, has uncovered shortages in senior housing, home care, long-term care and other areas that threaten to cripple the state economically and socially as its senior population grows.
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