With many state governments in fiscal crisis mode, seniors and their advocates are also in a state of panic. Funding cuts across the board could significantly impact vital programs and services for seniors. Often among the cuts are senior centers — for many, that means losing their “lifeline.” As a hub of senior services in the local community, seniors, particularly those isolated and alone, rely on these centers for nutritious meals, exercise, flu shots, activities and social contact.

Tami Luhby, a senior writer for CNN Money.com, explores the impact that slashed government funding would have on the seniors who come to the Fox Point Senior Center in Providence, Rhode Island. She states that Rhode Island isn’t alone: at least 45 states are projecting budget deficits for the current and future fiscal years, and are forced to cut funding for many programs and services that seniors and other vulnerable populations need desperately.

Senior center directors across Rhode Island are “scrambling to maintain services in the face of funding cuts,” and they are doing so in a number of ways (i.e. reducing hours, eliminating activities, letting go of staff). This “doing more with less” is not the ideal way of managing the centers, but Corinne Calise Russo, director of the state Department of Elderly Affairs, affirmed the necessity of these difficult cuts: they had to be done to maintain other critical services such as adult day care and home care. Russo says, “No seniors will be left without meals or assistance.” Enter the big “but”: they might have to seek those services elsewhere. Russo maintains, “There was no other place to go for this funding. There were no other options.”

While some centers may be able to go on with limited services, some may have to shut their doors altogether. This worries Lori Silvia, Fox Point’s executive director. “People become isolated when they don’t have services like this,” Silvia said. “They just sit in their apartments. We don’t want to see that happen.”

Senior centers are indeed a vital part of every local community, and not just for the seniors who frequent them. Lawmakers and other elected officials need to know just how vital these centers are, despite the daunting financial challenges presented in their ledgers. Reach out to your local state representatives and senators and let them know what the senior center means to you and your community. No matter what happens, they need to hear from their constituents. And you never know: your voice could make the difference.

What’s happening in your state/community?  Are senior centers nearby in danger of closing? Reducing services?  How has it impacted your community?

- Michelle Seitzer