Golden Introduces Bill to Help Seniors Build Community, Engage Young Mainers

WASHINGTON — With Maine's over-65 population expected to exceed its under-19 population next year, Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) introduced new legislation, the Multigenerational Engagement Act, this week that would expand opportunities for seniors to connect with young people. The bipartisan bill, which Golden introduced with Republican Congressman Ron Wright (TX-06), makes federal resources available to states, Area Agencies on Aging, and community organizations such as YMCAs to provide programs that facilitate engagement across generations. The bill would better enable seniors to volunteer with young people, fill mentorship roles, and otherwise connect with youth populations.

"Maine is the oldest state in the nation, and seniors are the anchors of most communities here," said Golden. "When seniors are engaged, especially with young people, everyone wins. By improving opportunities for elder Mainers to pass on their wisdom to the next generation, we can keep seniors healthy, build strong bonds in communities across our state, and ensure important lessons are passed onto Maine kids. I'm proud to work across the aisle on the Multigenerational Engagement Act today."

"Spectrum Generations – the Central Maine Area Agency on Aging – is excited to support Representative Golden's efforts in expanding funding opportunities for multigenerational programming. The programs this implementation will potentially support provides fun for everyone involved, no matter their age, aiding in positive outlooks and increasing social engagement. We believe that the future of aging in our nation, and the State of Maine, will be dependent upon creating and fostering the connections between generations – and this is an excellent step." – Spectrum Generations

Golden's bill is designed in part to help fight an increasing threat seniors are facing in Maine and across the country: isolation. Isolation, a condition in which seniors find themselves increasingly cut off from social interaction and their communities, has been linked to higher mortality rates, as well as physical and mental health risks. For Maine, a state with many of its 275,000 seniors living in rural communities, the impacts of social isolation may be particularly severe.

The Multigenerational Engagement Act would expand a program under the Older Americans Act that promotes multigenerational services and civic engagement. Currently, the program is limited to providing grants to promote technical assistance for these efforts. This legislation would broaden the program to support implementation of programs that engage both seniors and young people, such as nutrition programs, mentorship programs, foster and kinship care programs, and co-located child day care and senior long-term care facilities.

The legislation has the support of Central Maine's Spectrum Generations, Generations United and the YMCA of the USA.