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Funding cut causes hardship to Chesco seniors

Fred White used to have trouble getting to medical appointments. The 79-year-old, who lives alone in Kennett Square and uses a wheelchair, had to ask his neighbors and friends to drive him. But he did not want to bother them, and public shuttles were not convenient for him.

Fred White used to have trouble getting to medical appointments.

The 79-year-old, who lives alone in Kennett Square and uses a wheelchair, had to ask his neighbors and friends to drive him. But he did not want to bother them, and public shuttles were not convenient for him.

Now he gets rides through a Kennett Area Senior Center program.

Volunteers in the Neighbors in Action program, which began in 2009 and serves 191 people, also deliver groceries, perform minor home repairs, offer companionship, and provide other services designed to help seniors stay in their homes.

But as the Pennsylvania legislature continues to debate the budget, officials at the senior center learned the program will not get state funding this year.

"It will create a crisis for people if they can't get these types of rides," White said.

The $130,000 grant the center got last year for salaries and supplies for the program runs out Tuesday. So the senior staff, who found out about the cut on June 9, has been scrambling to come up with money to keep the program going.

They decided this week to dip into the center's emergency funds to pay for the program for the next three months. But they are desperate to find a long-term solution, said Anita O'Connor, executive director of the Kennett Area Senior Center.

Seniors have come to rely on Neighbors in Action's services, she said.

"This tiny program is representative of what can happen at the county level and on a much bigger scale," she said.

Senior centers in Downingtown and Coatesville were relying on state funds to roll out similar programs. Now they have to put their plans on hold.

Volunteers in the Neighbors in Action program operate where and when county public transportation does not, such as to a doctor's office in Delaware or from a hospital when a treatment finishes at 2 a.m.

The program also refers seniors to county services and helps them find housing, said Berta Rains, program coordinator.

Officials at the Kennett Area Senior Center plan to launch a community effort to save their program that includes contacting politicians, nonprofits, state and county agencies, and service clubs.

They will ask for funding from United Way, which used to help fund the program until the center received the state grant last year.

They are shooting for enough money for at least a bare-bones budget of $83,120.

The senior center also used to ask for payment from seniors using the services. But most could not afford to pay.

John Wusinich, 86, calls the volunteer who comes to the Kennett Township condominium he shares with his wife, Elizabeth, a godsend. The volunteer performs simple tasks, mainly changing bedsheets and folding laundry.

But she also talks to the couple and makes them laugh.

"It means a lot," Wusinich said.