Senior citizens meal and bus programs receive emergency funding to get back on their feet
The senior transportation program has also been in jeopardy as insurance costs skyrocketed last year. The brand-new bus has had to be parked for many months, and meal deliveries were made via private vehicles. Hopefully better and more reliable funding will put both the meals and transportation on better footing for the coming year.
by Marsha Chartrand
After months of uncertainty regarding their meal program, deliveries, programming, and transportation, the Manchester Area Senior Citizens Council can rest easier with a small cushion of financial stability thanks to the determined efforts of Village President Pat Vailliencourt and Village Manager Michael Sessions, along with the help of Washtenaw County Administrator Greg Dill and County Strategic Director Andrew DeLeeuw.
DeLeeuw and Dill agreed last week to provide $10,000 in short-term emergency funding to help the program get back on its feet. “With this help, the seniors will be secure that they can continue providing twice-weekly meals, and also funding for insurance on their bus and hire a driver for medical runs, social activities, and meal delivery (rather than using private drivers),“ Vailliencourt said.
Part of the deal will include finalizing an arrangement with Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express (WAVE) in Chelsea to take ownership of the senior bus. After taking delivery of their new bus in June 2019, the seniors were notified last year that the insurance rates had skyrocketed to $13,000 annually, an amount unaffordable for the group. So the bus has been sitting in the Village Hall parking lot for months, waiting for a solution. The solution will be that WAVE (which has a larger fleet and holds non-profit status) will lease the bus to the seniors for $1/year, which will reduce the insurance cost to just $3,000 per year.
The bus was only part of the issue. Despite Vailliencourt having lobbied the county’s Office of Community and Economic Development since last August, the seniors were left out of the budget for the 2022–23 Meals on Wheels program. How did Manchester get neglected in the first place?
“I have been begging and pleading since August, long before the (County) budget was completed,“ Vailliencourt explained. “We had requested Meals on Wheels assistance, which is provided to every other senior group in Washtenaw County. Somehow, we didn‘t ‘qualify.‘ We thought we would start getting meal assistance in October, and we had persuaded our cook to stay on two extra months. But it never happened. Somehow, it seems, there wasn’t money in the budget for Manchester senior meals. But they didn‘t let us know that until mid December.
“Once we had made that initial request, though,“ she continued, “I made up my mind — we were not going to take no for an answer! So I have been calling and e-mailing Greg Dill since mid December, and on Tuesday, January 3, Michael and I went to Ann Arbor to talk to Greg and Andrew.“
From the beginning, the Manchester seniors have worked hard to remain independent. But, says Vailliencourt, “We can’t do it alone in these times. We need a partner. The seniors are broke. Board members made personal donations so there would be money for food for meals this fall. This money from the County will help immensely. The Village has made its annual donation to the seniors. Sharon Township sent $2,500 to support the program. Bridgewater, Manchester, and Freedom Townships all have the topic on their upcoming meeting agendas to provide financial support to get us through until October 2023.“
The plan is currently that Vailliencourt will receive the application to be part of the approval process to get Manchester seniors into the County Meals on Wheels program for 2023–24.
The County is also looking into a partnership with the Area Agency on Aging.
“How that relationship will work out, I don’t know,“ Vailliencourt said. “But it is another avenue for support.“
You must be logged in to post a comment Login