Passage of Mahoning levy in March spells improved quality of life for seniors, speakers say

YOUNGSTOWN

Advocates for a new 1-mill, five-year Mahoning County senior-citizen services real-estate tax levy said older people can look forward to a quality-of-life improvement if the levy passes.

The advocates spoke at a Tuesday panel discussion on the proposed levy at First Presbyterian Church on Wick Avenue.

The administrative director of an inter-generational community center in Girard made an impassioned plea for county voters to take care of their own by passing the levy March 15.

“Our older family members, our friends, our neighbors, who built this community – they deserve to age independently in their own homes for as long as possible,” said Laura Carey, administrative director of the Girard Multigenerational Center.

The center, whose primary focus is on senior-citizen services and activities, is in a former school building and is funded by Trumbull Countywide and Girard senior levies.

“We know that our federal and state resources are severely limited,” Carey told the levy forum, which was sponsored by the Youngstown State University Emerging Scholars and Professionals in Gerontology.

“Taking care of our seniors has become a community effort across the state,” she said. “Here, in the Mahoning Valley, we have always had a tradition of taking care of our own. That senior levy is going to keep that tradition alive in the Mahoning Valley.”

Read more about the event and the levy in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.