With a certain appreciation for the governor’s efforts to encourage new housing for the commonwealth, I do note the availability of a large but old housing supply, particularly here in western Massachusetts.
We do not have sufficient elderly housing, nor do we have enough young people in West County. The imbalances coupled with real needs are an opportunity to combine certain state programs for a wider outcome.
Specifically, I am suggesting that state government encourage re-habilitation of our numerous old Victorian houses into two or three units for multi-generational families. This proposed combination is a return to the old three family houses that dominated our cities a hundred years ago.
More and more young people need the assistance of parents who themselves are also caring for elderly parents. Our numbers are so small here, but I can tell you that three or four such conversions would have a significant impact on our small town.
As a G-uber driver (grandmother driver of kids to school events etc.), I would like to see more encouragement, legal or financial, to enable efficient re-use of existing housing to its fullest capacity and use.
Marguerite Morris Willis
Charlemont