Advocacy
By Maddy Bynes, Special to Never Too Late Your Advocacy Leads to Success Once Again! For the third year in a row, your
of people who are homeless are over the age of 50, and a majority of those are homeless for the first time. The rising cost of housing and increased inflation in Arizona have made living prices skyrocket, especially over the past year. Many older adults rely on Social Security income to ensure their bills are paid. With Social Security receiving marginal year over year increases that do not keep up with inflation, it is clear that the cost of living far exceeds many older adults’ ability to remain in their own homes without financial assistance. We do not yet know how we will structure our housing program or what services may be available to residents of Pima County, but we will be sure to keep you informed as we learn more about the requirements and begin developing a program. Overall, we want to thank you for your continued advocacy and support of both PCOA and older adults. Please continue to show your support by writing a thank you letter to your legislators by visiting advocate.pcoa. org and clicking “take action” today!
Home-delivered meals is another area of great need in our community. During the pandemic, the funding appropriated by the federal government for home-delivered and congregate community lunches increased by over 100%. This substantial one-time increase meant that we were able to serve more people in need, and help older adults stay home during those trying times. Though there is a lessened threat of COVID-19 than there was in 2020, the need for nutrition programming for older adults has not changed. Our program is getting more inquiries than ever before, but the pandemic funding is rapidly ending. Just last year we stopped our pandemic restaurant lunch program, which was serving approximately 150 people in low-income apartment complexes throughout Tucson. Though the funds provided to Area Agencies on Aging by the State of Arizona cannot completely solve this problem, they are an important steppingstone to better meeting our community’s needs. Another $5 million was also appropriated as one-time funding for the Area Agencies on Aging to address the housing crisis among older adults. This is the first time that Area Agencies on Aging have had state funding to address the growing affordable housing and homelessness crisis in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Economic Security estimates that 50%
advocacy has been instrumental in obtaining additional state funding through the Arizona State Legislature. This year, thanks to your tireless efforts, Arizona’s Area Agencies on Aging, of which PCOA is one, received a collective $10 million of one-time funding. This is an increase of $8 million for Fiscal Year 2024, accounting for the largest increase in state funding that aging services has seen in well over a decade! These funds are split into two categories. $5 million was appropriated as one-time funding for Area Agencies on Aging to generally support services. This funding is critical as we find ourselves at a crossroads of increasing community needs running up against a severe workforce shortage in care workers. Right now, there are hundreds of people on a waiting list to receive home and community- based services in Pima County. Many of these people have been assessed and approved for service, but our service providers are struggling to find a qualified care worker to provide assistance due to the workforce shortage. These funds give us the ability to further invest in our provider network, making it easier to reduce our waiting list and serve people more expeditiously.
July 2023, Never Too Late | Page 29
Pima Council on Aging
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