Maine Aging Partners

11/06/2025

Here, we still show up for our neighbors.
That’s what Maine Aging Partners was built on — local guidance, real conversation, no pressure.
Whether you’re caring for a parent in Portland or planning from Presque Isle, the first step is knowing you’re not alone. 💛

10/21/2025

Looking forward to class tonight at Kennebunk Free Library.

10/17/2025

Whether it’s a car repair negotiation, a family decision, or a statewide policy discussion — calm is a power move.

At Maine Aging Partners, that’s exactly what we’re building into the systems that support older adults and the people who serve them: the capacity to stay grounded, thoughtful, and effective when the stakes are high.

Because real progress in aging isn’t just about programs or policy — it’s about people who can lead with steadiness and vision in the moments that matter most.

10/17/2025

As we consider what’s happening in the government shutdown, this is the moment my work changed and I found purpose. We all need to sit around the table.

10/01/2025

Taught an assisted living class tonight and had one of those moments that sticks with you.

After walking through the layers of rules and structures, a gentleman looked at me and said:
“So what you’re telling me is this is just real life?”

Yes. Exactly.

09/30/2025

Most families live in the middle — not wealthy enough to buy endless care, not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid. And it’s in the middle where the system breaks.

I’ve lived the cost of being in the middle, and that’s why at Maine Aging Partners I fight for families who are too often overlooked. We bring choices before crisis, support that doesn’t punish stability, and leadership willing to protect the core.

Because when the middle disappears, aging collapses.

For weeks I’ve felt pushed in every direction. Are you Republican or Democrat? Do you love your family enough? Why don’t you pick a side? The questions keep coming, and the answer is always the same: I’m in the middle. That’s not just my personal story — it’s the story of aging in Americ...

09/30/2025

That’s why the middle can’t be ignored — and why we won’t stop talking about it.

Fixing aging isn’t about tinkering at the edges. It’s about rebuilding the system around the reality most families live in: not rich, not poor, but right in the middle.

✅ Choices before crisis

✅ Support that doesn’t punish stability

✅ Leadership that crosses party lines to protect the core

At Maine Aging Partners, we serve the families in the middle — because when the middle disappears, aging collapses.

The middle is where the system breaks down. At the top, wealth buys security. At the bottom, Medicaid provides a lifeline. But in between lies the vast majority of America — families who worked, saved, and contributed their whole lives — and it’s in this middle that the ground is giving way. I...

09/26/2025

Maximus says yes — but agencies still can’t staff the hours. Families end up caught between paper approval and real life needs.

09/24/2025

This evening reminded me of something simple but true: systems matter. I was supposed to teach a class on assisted living, and while it wasn’t undone by one mistake or one person, the pieces failed to connect. So I made the call — if there were students, let them know the program wouldn’t run. I still showed up because I needed to know the bones were there. Not perfection — just making sure the structure was sound.

That’s what Medicaid feels like right now. It’s a huge government program that gets a lot of attention from powerful groups, but when it comes to families, there isn’t much power for them in it. Families are left carrying the weight of a system that doesn’t connect the pieces, trying to make sense of it on their own.

Showing up matters, but it can’t be the only thing that keeps people from falling through the cracks. We need systems that serve families with the same care and attention they already give to big institutions.

If you’re in the middle of this, focus on the details that matter most to your family. That’s how you find a path forward, even when the system makes it harder than it should be.

09/24/2025

When choosing assisted living, don’t just look at the building — look at the dining room. Food is community. The way meals are prepared, served, and shared says everything about how a facility values its residents.