Living Well in Madison

The Town of Madison is a rural community in Somerset County that has a significant number of residents over the age of 55. (approximately 42%). The Town of Madison recognizes that seniors have a strong desire to remain in their homes as they age. Madison has always worked with community commitment that has benefited the seniors in the area such as sponsoring gathering places, having an active food pantry, having a local cable network for programming and information sharing, and having a community service work day for older adults done by students of MSAD 59.

In November of 2017, the Town of Madison became an AARP Age-Friendly Living Well In Madison Community action plan recognizes many of the challenges of aging in a rural community and seeks to address those challenges. Madison is a community that supports the health and well being of all citizens while working on inter-generational population living, working, and interacting together.

What Does it Mean to be an Age-Friendly Community?

The AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities serves as a catalyst to the Town of Madison and helps educate local leaders and engaged residents and encourages them to make changes that are more livable for all ages, specifically seniors in the area. Since the Town of Madison is an age-friendly community, local leaders can better identify and understand community needs, create partnerships with community groups and local stakeholders, there is more leadership opportunities for volunteers to be involved in, and most importantly enable there to be changes that benefit people of all ages.

Goals of Being Age Friendly in Madison

The goals that Madison is specifically working on are: developing and communicating their small-scale home repair network that benefits seniors by allowing them to maintain safety in their home, developing and communicating a small-scale volunteer driver network that helps seniors with their transportation needs and to better communicate health care resources.