The senior population of Madison County accounts for 15% of the total population. It is the over age 85 segment of this population that has the greatest need for affordable housing. This segment of the elder population is projected to grow at 4 times the rate of the general population over the next three decades. The elderly in this age bracket have increasingly severe health limitations that make remaining in their homes very difficult, if not impossible. For the 10% of these citizens whose incomes are below the poverty level, hiring help for tasks that they can no longer manage independently is not an option.

     I continue to work with the Elder Coalition in Madison on the process of applying for a Federal HUD grant to build apartments for the use of elderly residents of Madison. We are currently evaluating an appropriate site for the housing near the town of Madison. Once a site is selected the application for the grant may proceed. Watch this site or the Madison Eagle for updates. The HUD funds will be used to construct privately owned apartments for senior independent living. Twenty-three one-bedroom units for low-income elderly residents will be built. These apartments will help address the fact that Madison County is now experiencing a severe lack of affordable housing for the elderly.

     This will allow our low income elderly to have modern, affordable housing in a familiar environment, benefiting the surrounding community with their continued presence and support.

     This housing might make it possible for some of our seniors to remain in the county for the last years of their lives, when they would otherwise be unable to do so. While some of Madison's seniors are relative newcomers to the community, the majority are not; 61% have been in Madison at least 25 years, and many have been in the county since infancy. Many of Madison's seniors live alone (25%) or with only a spouse of similar age (59%). Only 16% of the 1878 seniors (2000 census) in Madison live in larger households, where they have the assistance of younger household members as the infirmities of age interfere with their daily living activities.

     To supplement the residents' access to medical and shopping needs, weekly van service will be available via RapidTran currently serving Madison. Community spaces adjoining the office area in the apartments will include a meeting room with space for communal dining and other activities. A small laundry room will be available. Madison Emergency Services Association, (MESA) strongly supports this proposal and believes that the best housing options for seniors will provide them with well-designed units that will allow them to "age in place" with the necessary support services.

     "I feel that to provide such housing for our Seniors is an appropriate response to the needs of those who built the county and helped make it the wonderful place that it is today."

Robert Miller - September 2005