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Area agency begins providing services funded by senior levy
By Justin Wier
YOUNGSTOWN
Joe Rossi, CEO of the Area Agency on Aging 11, said it’s fitting that Mahoning County’s senior levy services kicked in over the Independence Day weekend.
“Really, that’s what this levy has done is provide independence for seniors so they can remain at home,” he said.
Voters approved the 1-mill levy, which generates $4.1 million annually, in March 2016. The Area Agency on Aging, which administers the funds, began offering services to county seniors July 1.
The agency will use levy funds to offer a wide range of services from nutrition and wellness programs to home modification and personal care.
Mahoning is the last of the four counties serviced by the Area Agency on Aging to pass a senior levy. Levies were already in place in Trumbull, Columbiana and Ashtabula counties.
State and federal funding for senior services has declined while the number of seniors in the area continues to increase, Rossi said.
By 2020, 31 percent of Mahoning County residents will be older than 60, according to a recent study. Costs for services have also increased. This has led to long wait lists for service, which the levy should help eliminate.
“Being able to address those wait lists and help people be independent in their homes is why we got the levy,” said Anthony Cario, the agency’s chief operating officer.
A federal program providing coupons for seniors to use at designated farmer’s markets had a long wait list. About 800 people in Mahoning County have signed up for a similar program provided under the levy, and the agency is still accepting applications.
About 130 people were on a wait list for home-delivered meals. They are now receiving meals or will be soon.
The agency is working through the personal-care wait list, which has about 300 people on it who need someone to help them with things such as bathing or getting dressed in the morning.
“Mahoning County was the largest county in the state without a senior levy,” Cario said. “And the wait lists were the largest in the state.”
In 2015, the agency provided services to about 2,400 seniors in Mahoning County. Rossi estimated the levy will allow them to serve an additional 10,000 seniors depending on their needs.
The services help not only seniors, but their children who care for them. Caregivers can take classes that help them deal with fatigue. The agency can provide respite by taking the senior to a day program.
The Mahoning County commissioners have approved the lease of 1,532 square feet on the second floor of the Mahoning County Children Services building to the agency. Two employees and one supervisor will manage levy services in the new office.
With the Canfield Fair approaching, Rossi said he will not have to ask the question he hated asking people who approached the booth inquiring about services: “What county are you from?”
If they said Mahoning, his next question was whether they qualified for Medicaid. If not, they had to get on a waiting list.
“Now it’s like, ‘OK, call this number. We’ll help you out,’” he said.
Those interested in obtaining services for themselves or someone they care for may call the agency at 330-505-2300 and ask for community resources.
Most services will be provided without charge to any county resident 60 or older needing the service, regardless of income or assets.