Agency Seeks Cash for Senior Services

Faced with decreasing federal funds, South County Senior Services is asking the community to help pay for basic services for the elderly.

The organization is trying to raise about $150,000 to make up for a deficit in its nutrition program, as well as other services such as in-home care, the shared nursing program and the adult day-care center, Marilyn Ditty, executive director, said.

The organization, which provides hot meals and a boxed lunch daily for 1,200 seniors, receives 75% of its funding from the federal government. The bulk of that comes from the Administration on Aging, whose budget was cut 5% last year.

“We’ve had to borrow money to make ends meet,” Chris Olson, director of operations, said.

The organization also has cut staff and put some elderly people on waiting lists for its Meals on Wheels program, which delivers to 600 homebound seniors, Ditty said.

“For an 85-year-old person who just got out of a hospital, that means they have to go into a nursing home,” Ditty said. “There are a lot of people who don’t have families within a 100-mile radius. What are they going to do?”

Ditty said volunteers are asking seniors to pay more than the suggested $2.75 for meals. “People can’t donate what we’re asking now,” Ditty said. “We need some help from this community for these people.”

To start its fund-raising campaign, the organization will sponsor a golf tournament March 4 at Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club. All proceeds will go to the Meals on Wheels program.

Information: (714) 498-0400.