Today’s number: 145,441

 

Today’s number: 145,441

Monday, Jan 25, 2016

* Press release…

Since September 28, 2015, Illinois Area Agencies on Aging have been providing a weekly alert addressing the impact of the budget Impasse. I4A is chronicling the erosion of services to seniors in the State of Illinois. Given that we are in late January and there is no visible effort to address and resolve the budget crisis, we are now projecting an Illinois that does not support older people who are in greatest need (or who can avoid unnecessary incapacitation with minimal assistance within their communities).

Last week I4A reported on the number of older people this year who have been denied meals and supportive assistance because of the budget Impasse. With major cash flow delays, no compensation under the Prompt Payment Act (meals and supportive services are distributed as grants - not eligible for interest when payment is delayed), expensive lines of credit and exhausted reserves, of course people have not been served.

The following itemizes the number of people who will be abandoned if state support for Planning and Service Grants and Community Based Services funding are forever gone:

Annual number of people served by the Illinois Aging Network (federal and state support): 484,000
Annual number of people served if only federal funding is received: 338,559
Number of people who are abandoned under the current budget impasse: 145,441

Represented within your 145,441 older citizens/constituents affected by the loss of funding are a minimum of:

1,621 people forced to enter nursing homes instead of exploring options for care
206 people no longer able to receive door-to-door assistance with transportation – doctor appointments missed
9,356 people literally missing the bus because of other lost transportation services
105,973 people without information assistance, resulting in missed benefits and financial assistance
4,067 people not receiving outreach to tell them that they can and should receive help
387 people without a functioning home environment due to lost chore/housekeeping
114 people facing added caregiver strain or leaving their loved ones alone because of denied respite
163 people risking falls and other household injuries because no one can change a light bulb, etc.
77 people left alone without a call from a concerned organization’s telephone reassurance
303 people not understanding how they can survive with lost counseling services
962 people not attending life enriching education classes
516 people with undetected health issues because of lost health screening
257 people unable to locate suitable housing, leaving them at risk of homelessness
2,257 people without legal assistance to advocate for them to receive benefits they’re entitled to
13,400 people locked out of senior centers
6,525 people without recreational activity and often without a purpose to keep going

We are facing a projected loss of $5,417,708 of GRF normally supporting senior services in Illinois. Each of the 13 Illinois Area Agencies on Aging listens to their communities to assure that services of the highest priority are supported, thus these projections show the potential impact but will be adjusted based on planning principles and needs throughout the state. The bottom line is that nothing is self-supporting – the Illinois Aging Network is a balance of state, federal and local funding that provides the most responsive and important service network for older people in Illinois (and the nation). Thus home delivered meals are similarly lost when supportive services are not part of the community agency’s budget. It is time to resolve the budget impasse and identify the resources and priorities for Illinois spending based on the dignity and importance of every Illinois citizen.

Distributed for I4A by:
Jonathan Lavin
Chief Executive Officer
AgeOptions

Above is from:  http://capitolfax.com/2016/01/25/todays-number-145441/