Board has two slots for San Benito reps as state scales back
senior services
The Seniors Council, a nonprofit that services San Benito and
Santa Cruz counties, is in need of two volunteer board members from
San Benito County. The advisory board, which generally has 15
members, is down to 11 members with just one representative from
San Benito.
Board has two slots for San Benito reps as state scales back senior services
The Seniors Council, a nonprofit that services San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, is in need of two volunteer board members from San Benito County. The advisory board, which generally has 15 members, is down to 11 members with just one representative from San Benito.
Representation is especially important at a time when state cuts have hit senior services hard, said Charlie Scott, a local board member.
Scott joined the advisory board at the invitation of Pauline Valdivia, the director of Jovenes de Antano and a Hollister city council member, shortly after Valdivia joined the city council.
“I’ve been active since I moved here,” Scott said, of the organizations with which he has been involved. “When I retired, I needed something to do.”
The advisory council operates programs on the Central Coast including the Tri-County In-Kind program; Project SCOUT (which offers tax help to seniors in Santa Cruz County – San Benito has a tax program offered through the American Association of Retired Persons); a foster grandparent program; a senior companion program; and the Area Agency on Aging. The Senior Council also receives state and federal funding to contract with local agencies to provide senior services.
In San Benito County, the Seniors Council funds the programs administered through Jovenes de Antano such as the lunch program, meals-on-wheels, transportation services, and the Alzheimer’s support group, among other services.
“San Benito gets 25 percent of the funding that comes in,” Scott said.
Scott said the meal programs are one of the essential resources provided by Jovenes de Antano.
“It gives them congregate meals [at the senior center] and Meals-on-Wheels,” he said.
The last round of state cuts left the meal programs cut back to what Scott referred to as the state’s failsafe level of funding. It is the same amount as was budgeted in 1988. This year, federal stimulus money contributed about half the money that was cut.
“The funding from the stimulus package made up 50 percent for one year, but we’re not sure what we are going to do [next year,]” he said.
Some of the programs that have been eliminated statewide include the Alzheimer’s Day Care, as reported in last week’s Pinnacle (see www.pinnaclenews.com for the story); a low-income senior renter assistance program; low-income senior homeowner tax credits; a senior companion program; Linkages; Brown Bag nutrition; and Medi-cal adult services such as eyeglasses, dental, hearing aids and podiatry. According to the Congress of California Seniors summer newsletter, 18 other programs that benefit seniors under the California Health and Human Services department received major cuts.
“It’s hurt us all the way down the line,” Scott said.
In addition to the programs administered through Jovenes de Antano, the Seniors Council offers legal advice for seniors on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy program, which provides counseling about Medicare and health care issues.
The Seniors Council runs a foster grandparent and senior companion programs in four counties, including San Benito, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and north Monterey.
“That is a program to provide schools and facilities with mentors,” Scott said. “The foster grandparents get lunch, transportation and a small stipend.”
The stipend works out to about $2.35 an hour, he said. The program has a triple benefit since it provides mentors to school kids, offers an activity for the seniors and provides a little extra money to a senior who might be living on a fixed income. The Seniors Council recruits, trains and places senior volunteers in schools, adult care centers and hospitals. A typical monthly stipend is between $165 to $230 a month.
According to a presentation Scott gave at a recent board meeting, schools reported a 75 percent improvement in math, reading or behavior of the students with a foster grandparent.
As for the serving on the Seniors Council, Scott said, “We are looking for someone who is interested in senior welfare and who will take the time to sit down and look at the programs.”
The Seniors Council meets once a month, and the meetings rotate through the service area so the meetings are held in San Benito every four months. Anyone interested in serving on the Seniors Council, can find out more at www.seniorscouncil.org or by calling 688-0400 or Scott directly at 638-0928.
