The future of the Berkshires depends on uplifting every generation. As we work to create opportunities for young people and families, we also have a responsibility to ensure that the people who built our communities can continue to live in them with dignity, independence, and security.
Growing older should never mean being forced to leave the community you've spent a lifetime building.
Across the 1st Berkshire District, many older adults want something very simple. They want to remain in the homes, neighborhoods, and towns they know and love. Yet rising housing costs, increasing property taxes, transportation barriers, limited healthcare access, and social isolation can make that goal increasingly difficult. Too often, seniors are forced to leave their communities not because they want to, but because they no longer have practical options.
I believe Massachusetts can do better.
Supporting older adults means making it possible to age in place whenever possible. That requires expanding housing options that allow seniors to downsize without leaving their communities, investing in reliable transportation so residents can reach medical appointments, grocery stores, and community events, strengthening access to home- and community-based healthcare services, supporting family caregivers, and ensuring our public spaces and downtowns remain safe, accessible, and welcoming.
Access to quality healthcare is fundamental to aging with dignity. Too many older adults in Berkshire County struggle to find a primary care provider, face long waits for specialty care, or must travel significant distances for appointments that should be available closer to home. Those challenges are even greater for individuals with limited mobility or chronic health conditions. Healthcare should be affordable, accessible, and designed around the unique needs of an aging population. That means strengthening our rural healthcare workforce, expanding access to geriatric and specialty care, supporting home-based healthcare services, investing in behavioral health and dementia care, and ensuring technology like telehealth complements, rather than replaces, the availability of local healthcare professionals.
The recent approval of health insurance premium increases serves as another reminder that affordability remains one of the greatest challenges facing older adults living on fixed incomes. Rising premiums, prescription costs, deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses should not force seniors to choose between healthcare, housing, groceries, or other necessities. We must continue working to address the underlying drivers of healthcare costs while protecting access to quality care for every resident, regardless of where they live.
Our older residents are not simply recipients of services—they are among our community's greatest assets. They are volunteers, mentors, grandparents, small business owners, veterans, civic leaders, and neighbors who continue to contribute to the character and strength of the Berkshires every day. They preserve our history, strengthen our nonprofits, mentor future generations, and help keep our communities connected. Supporting them is about recognizing that value and ensuring they have every opportunity to continue living active, connected, and fulfilling lives.
Helping seniors remain in their communities also creates opportunities for everyone else. Expanding accessible housing gives older adults options to downsize while opening family homes for the next generation. Reliable transportation strengthens mobility for residents of all ages. Walkable downtowns, quality healthcare, accessible public spaces, and vibrant community centers benefit children, working families, retirees, and visitors alike. Communities designed to support older adults ultimately become stronger communities for everyone.
As your State Representative, I will work to ensure Berkshire County receives its rightful share of state investments that support older adults. I will advocate for stronger funding for Councils on Aging, improved rural transportation services, expanded home care and caregiver support, greater access to affordable and accessible housing, investments in primary and specialty healthcare, stronger recruitment and retention of rural healthcare professionals, and policies that recognize the unique challenges facing rural communities with aging populations. I will continue working with local leaders, healthcare providers, housing organizations, and community partners to develop practical solutions that allow more people to remain in the communities they have spent their lives building.
I also believe Berkshire County has an opportunity to become a statewide leader in creating age-friendly rural communities. By thoughtfully investing in housing, transportation, healthcare, accessibility, and community engagement, we can build communities where growing older is not viewed as a challenge to overcome, but as another stage of life that deserves independence, dignity, purpose, and connection.
A community should not be judged solely by how it prepares young people for the future, but also by how it honors those who helped build its foundations for decades. My goal is to help create communities where every generation can thrive, and where growing older is met not with new barriers, but with continued opportunity, connection, and dignity.