My first term as a newly elected representative in our state Legislature was a harrowing one. In 1981, we faced a billion-dollar shortfall that would ultimately result in many painful policy decisions.

Today, as our Legislature contends with a fiscal cliff of $2 billion to $3 billion, I’m watching from my apartment at an Olympia assisted living facility as the same story is told anew. This time, though, in addition to other challenges, we are sitting on the precipice of an unprecedented age wave: by 2030, one in five Washington state residents will be age sixty-five or older. As the Legislature weighs their options, it is imperative that they do not hobble the very services so many of our state residents need most.

Assisted living facilities have come to fill a stubborn gap in the existing healthcare spectrum. For my husband and me, 98 and 95, respectively, this type of graduated level of care has meant the difference between feeling supported and feeling isolated.

Assisted living has given us the dignity of doing daily activities independently in a safe environment — with the confidence that there is help here if we need it. When my husband had a fall last year, we had people we could call to help. When I had a knee replacement a few months ago, I could have meals brought to my room until I could go to the dining room. This individual support available helps us stay out of the hospital. Not only is this in our own personal interest as older adults, it is also in the best interest of the community, putting less stress on already strained hospitals.

During my 12 years of service in the Legislature and subsequent years working in the governor’s office, I reaffirmed my core belief that our society’s job is to care for one another. The obvious fact is we can do collectively what we cannot do individually. We have the greatest opportunity to make our own choices, but we also have the back-up of the community.

Our transition to assisted living has been an embodiment of that belief. I can’t do it alone. I need help sometimes. Anyone with a debilitating health challenge or functional disability might need to utilize assisted living. You never think it will be you who needs help, until it is you.

Our state collectively faces the realities of the federal Medicaid cuts and the state’s budget shortfall, and I have certainly been there and done that with regard to the pressure of making difficult budgetary decisions that can affect real people’s lives. Although most current lawmakers are decades away from considering their own long-term care needs, every one of their communities has residents currently in long-term care, managing it for someone else or planning for their entry.

By 2050, we expect the senior population in Washington to nearly double, with Baby Boomers at the vanguard of that wave. Washington must be prepared to meet the direct health care needs of what will be nearly one out of four Washingtonians, not to mention their families. Our long-term care options like assisted living and skilled nursing facilities have become an essential part of the fabric of healthcare in our state that keeps residents out of in-demand hospital beds and instead in stable, supportive housing that meets their needs, wherever they are.

While aging is not as glamorous as many other priorities, it’s a reality that, if we’re lucky, we all must face — even legislators. I stand before you as Exhibit A. As you visualize the future, don’t cut your constituents or potentially yourselves short, protect funding for long term care.

Lorraine Hine served as the state representative for the 33rd Legislative District in Washington state from 1981 to 1993. She worked as staff director for Gov. Mike Lowry after leaving state office. She lives in Olympia as a resident of a local assisted living facility with her husband.