Living Well in Madison

Contact: Cheyenne Stevens (livingwellmadisonmaine@gmail.com)

Joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities: 2017-12-15

Structure: Municipal staff with an all-volunteer committee

Highlight of 2023: I have just recently in the past few months became the Living Well Coordinator for Madison again. I would say that the biggest accomplishment that we have so far that has proven success is gathering an active committee that has multiple projects in the works to make Madison more age-friendly.

On our committee we have myself(the living well coordinator), a select board member, a actively involved community citizen, the producer of our local television service, the town librarian, and the operator of one of local senior housing units. I feel our committee is extremely well rounded. The biggest challenge has been adapting to everyone's schedules however we have adjusted to meet monthly and all committee members have been active in some manner outside and inside of the meetings.

Living Well in Madison's Initiatives and Accomplishments:

Communication and Information

• Posting a resource and information page on the Town of Madison’s website. 

• Interviews of Local Resource representatives through SCTV11. 

• Starting a Facebook Page to reach a variety of individuals who communicate through social media. 

Housing

This summer (2023) Madison is proud to announce that there will be 18-unit apartments being built on Weston Ave. There will be two buildings close to the street with front porches to provide space for individuals who would like to sit outside. There will be a total of 4 studio apartments, 12 1-bedroom apartments, and 2 2-bedroom apartments. Additional buildings are intended to be built following the construction this summer. The housing units will be built to provide people with a quality place to live. The units being built this summer will follow Maine Housing Guidelines and are expected to attract all individuals including older adults who are looking to downsize.

Transportation

• Partnered with KVCAP to offer a pilot transportation program to provide rides for residents of One Madison Avenue for grocery shopping.