After more than 40 years in Brunswick, I never imagined that our hometown would become an unaffordable place to retire.

My husband is a veteran who served this country for 21 years. I’ve spent more than 33 years as a radiation therapist. Our pensions and Social Security put us in a category where we have “too much” to qualify for many senior housing communities, but nowhere near enough to consider options like The Highlands.

There need to be more communities like Thornton Oaks, which has a waiting list of four to six years, or more affordable condo-style developments that seniors can purchase.

That’s why I believe Dr. Nirav Shah is talking about something real when he says we need to make it possible for older Mainers to age with dignity, independence and security.

His plan to expand in-home support and invest in community-based care so people can stay in their homes, reducing the long waitlists so many of us face, speaks directly to what we are experiencing. Because right now, too many of us are, as I call it, “caught in the middle.”

For some, staying in their family home brings comfort. For others, it isn’t a choice but the only option. For those of us “caught in the middle,” Dr. Shah’s election as governor would be a chance to refocus state policy on the ability to age in place with dignity and without fear of being priced out of the towns we’ve called home for a lifetime.

Sandra Carslick
Brunswick