By Allie Elvington
An organization that provides assistance to the aging residents of Dillon County has been force to reduce services due to the continuous rise in gas prices, organization officials said.
The Dillon County Council on Aging offers residents over age 60 many services including transportation across Dillon County.
“What has been our biggest problem with transportation is the cost of gas. It’s terrible because in no way have our funds been increased in transportation and gas has gone up, and then the up keep of vehicles,” said Joni Spivey, Director for the Council on Aging.
Spivey said the Council on Aging uses about $1,800 in gas a month. The council provides transportation for seniors to and from their building for meals and activities each week, as well as transportation to doctors’ offices, pharmacies, and even the grocery store. Due to the rise in fuel cost the Council now requires at least three seniors in the area to request transportation before a vehicle will be sent. This added requirement was put in place in order to justify the cost of traveling outside of Dillon city limits, stated Iris Miller, Service Manager for the Council on Aging.
The Dillon County Council on Aging currently uses a car that was donated by Dillon County, two 15 passenger vans, and a 15 passenger bus that was donated by the department of transportation. The new $60,000 bus gets eight miles to the gallon. The council uses the vehicles to provide transportation and home delivered meals to seniors.
Unfortunately this is not the only area that the Dillon County Council on Aging has suffered cuts in services. One of their services is home care. Spivey said they were doing 100 home care services a week before funds from a federal grant were cut in June. The Council is now only able to offer 40 services a week.
This substantial reduction in services is largely due to having to let go six employees, three of which helped to provide home care to seniors in the county. Seniors that are currently receiving home care have an employee of the Council on Aging come in to their homes once every two weeks to help with chores and other activities that may be too demanding for seniors, stated Spivey.
Many of the Council’s employees are part time workers that are hired through a program called Experience Works, a senior employment program geared toward helping seniors find additional means of income. Experience Works had a 60 percent reduction in funding which explains why they were no longer able to provide employee’s for the Council on Aging.
Last week, Spivey was informed that the Council on Aging would get three employees once again from Experience Works starting in July. Spivey said this will help reduce the number of seniors that are currently on the waiting list for home delivered meals and home care.
The waiting lists are a result of budgets cuts in the two most needed areas. None of the Councils services are provided in any way based on income.
“If they need the service and we can provide it to them then we do,” said Spivey.
The reduction in the number of home delivered meals began after the state grant SSBG was cut in July. With the grant, the Council was able to deliver five meals once a week to about 60 seniors in the county. Since the cuts took effect the council is only able to provide 20 seniors with home delivered meals.
Jeanette Freitas, Assistant Director for the Council on Aging, said the budget has been cut by 10 percent this year. This following budget cuts from the last four years has significantly restricted what services the council can provide.
“We don’t have quite the same hands on feeling with the budget. Now they divide our funds by the cost and tell us where we can spend it,” said Freitas.
The Council on Aging was recently informed by the state that they will no longer qualify for state insurance after June of this year. This has proved to be problematic for the Council because they can’t find any other company willing to cover them. Freitas stated that even once they find someone willing to insure the Council, the rate is sure to be double what the Council was paying for state coverage.
The Dillon County Council on Aging is mostly funded through the state, which provides 90 percent of the Council’s budget. The Council required to match 10 percent of the budget set by the state through other grants and local donations. The council is funded by United Way, The Schafer Foundation, the City of Dillon, Dillon County, The Johnson Foundation, and private donations.
For more information about the services provided by the Dillon County Council on Aging or to make donations, call Joni Spivey at (843) 774 – 0089.