For those who might have missed the article about the Vashon Senior Center’s budget in last week’s Beachcomber, here’s a quick rundown of the severe cuts that the center now faces.
United Way of King County has chosen to eliminate funding for senior programs starting July 1, 2016. That means just under $1.8 million will be taken away from King County senior programs and senior centers. For Vashon Senior Center, this means a 25 percent cut to our fixed annual budget — including the loss of many beloved programs.
The United Way funding will be redirected to four social service areas: ending homelessness, supporting preschools, older youth education and lifting 50,000 King County residents out of poverty. Of course these are all good causes, and I support them and see their importance, but not to the exclusion of our communities’ elders.
Seniors are the largest growing demographic across the country: The numbers of Boomers reaching retirement age won’t decline for another 15 years. In fact, in King County, Vashon Island has the highest concentration of seniors per capita. Our numbers are going the other way: The number of seniors needing assistance will grow for decades to come.
Many other communities have actually increased their support of healthy aging and the independence of older adults — but unfortunately King County isn’t one of them. For the life of me, I can’t understand why major funders would not see that investing in senior programming is not only a moral imperative, but a sound financial choice. Senior center programs help seniors remain in the community and not be institutionalized prematurely; they help seniors live independently in their own homes.
It’s hard to feel our work is appreciated or that there is any recognition of the importance of what these centers provide to their communities when such drastic decreases in funding are already in play.
Perhaps we need to clear up some misconceptions:
Myth: All seniors are well off.
Fact: While some are lucky enough to have a pension or ample savings/investments to live on, many are not that fortunate. Even those who assumed they had “enough” are finding themselves outliving their resources.
We all know how expensive it is to live on Vashon, but are elders just supposed to leave? This would mean losing what is most important to healthy living at any age: a place to call home, friends and family and a strong support system. I hear often from second and third generation Vashon seniors who are heartbroken at the possibility of being forced out because of finances.
Myth: Senior centers are totally funded by the government.
Fact: The Vashon Senior Center is partially funded by the county. When the recession hit in 2008, Vashon Senior Center lost more than half of its county funding. Even with the slow recovery, King County still has not returned county senior centers to their pre-2008 funding levels. However, the center has still operated at the same levels of service and has even managed to add some much-needed programming partly because of the support of our Vashon community.
I believe in the power of community; I believe in the strength we all have when we pull together, and I especially believe in the unique power of this island community. I continue to be amazed at how engaged, caring and generous Vashon residents can be. Help me show our seniors that they are important and keep much- needed senior programs operating in the years to come. Help our elders remain a part of this strong community.
— Ava Apple is the executive director of the Vashon Senior Center.
