Psychologist, doctors and social workers gathered at East Central Planning and Development District’s Newton location Wednesday as the area Agency on Aging held a public hearing to share its progress and get input on programs for the upcoming year.
Rosie Coleman, Aging Division director, said the agency coordinates several programs in Leake, Scott, Newton, Neshoba, Kemper, Smith, Jasper, Clarke and Lauderdale counties that help elderly residents stay in their homes.
“Our goal is allowing them to live independently in their homes for as long as possible,” she said.
To meet that goal, Coleman said the Agency on Aging has programs that cover a wide range of needs and services elderly residents can use, including: a congregate meals program, where residents can go to receive a meal; a home-delivered meals service; transportation assistance; homemaker services, which involve light housekeeping, laundry and other chores; and an ombudsman program, which advocates for residents of long-term care facilities to investigate complaints and ensure their needs are being met.
The Agency on Aging has set several goals for the upcoming year, Coleman said. The first is to expand the home-delivered meals to provide a second meal. Currently, she said, residents participating in the program only receive one meal a day.
“A second meal would go a long way,” she said.
The second goal is to further incorporate elderly abuse prevention, including legal assistance and ombudsman services, Coleman said.
ECPDD handled 106 elderly abuse cases in 2019 through its partnership with the Department of Health and Adult Protective Services. Coleman said abuse and mistreatment of elderly residents is something that happens every day, and the Agency on Aging is committed to fighting it.
“Whatever we can do,” she said.
Funding
For the 2020 fiscal year, the East Central Agency on Aging received flat funding, meaning the budget will be the same as before, about $1.8 million to service the 9-county area.
“I’ve seen better years, but this is good,” Coleman said. “We are in good shape for our upcoming year. We’ll be able to continue on with our services.”
Though the current services are on solid footing, agencies for aging across the state have many people on waiting lists, Brenda Hillie, division director said. Part of the problem, she said, is people don’t fill out the census.
ECPDD, along with numerous other state agencies, receive a large part of their funding from the federal government, Hillie said. Currently, 2010 census numbers are used to calculate the funding needed, but that will change next year with the 2020 census. Hillie urged residents to make sure they participate in the census so an accurate count, and accurate funding, can be received.
“The state of Mississippi is losing out on millions of federal assistance dollars because its population is not being counted,” she said. “Our numbers must go up.”
In addition to the census, Mark Williamson, bureau director for the Division of Aging and Adult Services, encouraged residents to let their state representatives know the services provided by the Agency on Aging are valued.
“We have waitlists for our home-delivered meals. We have waitlists for our homemaker services,” he said. “Anything you all can do to increase our funding…”
Statewide, Aging and Adult Services provided services to 160,000 seniors in the 2019 fiscal year, yet many more were placed on waitlists until funding became available. With an accurate census and residents helping show the legislature how important the agency’s programs are, Williamson said he hoped to help as many of Mississippi seniors as possible.
