After reading the article, "The rise of assisted living facilities," I feel compelled to respond. My 94-year-old mother with dementia, the widow of a WWII Army/Air Force gunner, is in an assisted living facility here in Tallahassee. She gets my father's Social Security, a meager check from his employer and Aid and Attendance benefit from the VA. Even with those, she is still in the red $1,000 a month. Needless to say, she will eventually run out of money.

Her ALF has changed administrative staff several times. This weekend, there was no manager on duty and only one nurse for over 60 seniors. It is the only place in town she can afford, and I am less than satisfied with the care, food and apartment.

My concern is not for my mother, but for my generation. What is to become of those who did not have the opportunity to get a college education, an employer who offers a 401K or those living paycheck-to-paycheck?

So go ahead and build more facilities, but please make them affordable for the average, middle income resident and employ a staff who gets paid well enough to care about their jobs and the residents who depend on them for everything.

Susan Conklin,

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