Cuts to senior programs are result of decrease in giving

GREEN VALLEY--The Pima Council on Aging is being forced to trim its non-government-funded programs due to a slow-down in private donations, Executive Director Marian Lupu said this week.

The PCOA's popular pension counseling program, which has helped seniors recover millions in disputed money, will be scaled back beginning with the new fiscal year July 1, Lupu said Thursday.

"Our major concern is our unrestricted money, our contributed dollars," Lupu said.

"These have not been as great as in the past, and we haven't received as many legacies and outright contributions."

The reasons for the decrease in contributions are myriad--from the pressures of the economy, the whims of the stock market, to a hang-over from the rush of charity that attended last year's tsunami disaster, Lupu said.

Another major program scheduled for the chopping block is the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, which sends about 600 seniors to 120 different nonprofit agencies and hospitals to help out.

While mostly a volunteer program, the PCOA reimburses members for the gas they use. The council was paying 14 cents per mile. Budget cuts have reduced that to 7 cents per mile, Lupu said.

"Several volunteers have said that they are no longer going to be able to do this anymore," she said. "So the cuts are not just to the PCOA, but they result in cuts to other agencies as well."

Staff cuts

The council will also decrease its staff, including that of the ombudsman's office, which will lose the part-time person it employees to assist seniors with understating Medicare issues.

Also being scaled-back are programs that help seniors stay in their homes by helping them with check writing and other simple financial tasks, and a home repair program that helps seniors with various repair projects.

The initial cuts to non-government-funded programs could reach $150,000 to $200,000, with much more to come if local and federal government funding slows down as well, Lupu said.

PCOA has already seen recent cuts to the money it gets from the city of Tucson and Pima County, Lupu said.

Core services may be cut

And if the federal government eliminates the Community Block Grants program, which has been threatened of late, the council could be forced to eliminate some of its core services, Lupu said.

"There is less money coming in, but the number of people who need us has increased tremendously," she said.

Some 20 percent of Pima County's population is over the age of 60, a demographic that grew by five percent between 2000 and 2005.

"We need two kinds of help: Financial help and advocacy help," Lupu said.

"Aging does not have a very high priority for most governments, so we need the help of the community."

thull@gvnews.com | 547-9732