March 2008 Vol. 27. No. 3

Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.

For All Time Cat Haven: Del Norte couple crates a safe dwelling for pets
Budget cuts: Programs will likely be affected
Area 1 Agency on Aging: Come talk about senior needs March 18
Get ready for A Special Day of Caring ‹ for your critters
AARP Driver Safety classes set
Rx: Pets: Training to become a Pet Partner set April 25, 26

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Budget cuts
Programs will likely be affected

by Joyce Hayes

The Humboldt Senior Resource Center, only one of many agencies that provide critical services to seniors in Humboldt County, receives approximately 70 percent of our agency funding from federal and state dollars. With the proposed cuts, HSRC will face one of the most significant reductions in funding seen for many years ‹ cuts we believe will impact the poorest and most frail seniors we serve.

Contracts we now hold with the Area 1 Agency on Aging will be reduced by $55,000 for next year. These reductions will impact programs such as Congregate Dining Centers, Home Delivered Meals, Ombudsman and Linkages programs. Medi-Cal cuts will impact our MSSP and Adult Day Health Services programs, resulting in an additional reduction of $167,000.

Nonprofits as a whole often shield funding reductions from client services, instead electing to cut non-client line items in the budget or reorganize to expect more work with fewer staff. However, with this magnitude of cuts it will be hard not to reduce client services.

And although we recognize that health and human services are not the only segment of our government that is being reduced, it is more difficult to accept when the people hardest hit are the most frail and poor in our community.

As an agency we are contacting our elected officials, governor¹s office and legislative leaders to advocate against these budget cuts. We encourage any interested individual to write or call your legislator and the governor to express an opinion on the proposed budget cuts.

As a community it is time to discuss what basic services are seen as necessary and a priority to maintain in order to have a healthy community.

Joyce Hayes is executive director of the Humboldt Senior Resource Center and publisher of Senior News.