Seniors, disabled sick of program cuts

YAKIMA, Wash. -- For Doris Thomas, 82, who is visually handicapped, regular help taking care of her feet in her own home is a godsend.

"Many things are discovered through the feet," said the Yakima senior who, along with other eligible residents in the Broadmoor Mobile Park, gets regular free visits from a foot-care specialist.

Proposed cuts to an array of services for senior citizens scare Thomas and others who turned out to a news conference Wednesday to register their displeasure with the austere state budget announced last month by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

While Gregoire promised another budget proposal that would raise revenue to close a $2.6 billion shortfall, seniors aren't waiting to make their voices heard.

In Yakima County, the cuts would amount to $300,000 this year and would include eliminating a day program for developmentally disabled adults that provides them with physical, occupational and speech therapy.

"We have to fight this battle every year," said Tom Gaulke of Entrust Community Services, which offers a program in Yakima called Creative Health Options to 22 developmentally disabled adults. Entrust hosted the news conference, which was one of many held statewide by advocates for senior citizens.

Entrust's Creative Health Options is a five-day-a-week program that keeps Kelly Gillespie, 37, active, physically strong and social, making it easier for her parents, Sue and Bill Gillespie, to care for her at home. The Gillespies already saw cuts last year in services for Kelly.

"They are going to whittle away at this until it disappears," Bill said.

For Ace Gloe, 82, of Yakima, being able to buy a reduced-price lunch daily at the Harman Center means good conversation and a relief from the isolation of living alone.

"There's nothing like going down to the senior center and making friends," Gloe said.

Gloe and his buddies, Marion Fretwell, 91, and Kevin Callow, 68, say they'd be willing to up their $2.50 donation in order to keep the lunches going.

"Without this program, many of us would become shut-ins," Callow said.

Fretwell, a former minister, said the budget reflects priorities that are all wrong. "We need to put human needs first," he said.

Madelyn Carlson, executive director of People for People, a regional social services agency based in Yakima, said the cuts would eliminate many transportation services, which she called "a lifeline" for many people, especially seniors.

"When seniors lose their personal mobility, it's a real loss for them," Carlson said.

Jerry Baldoz, who runs Meals on Wheels, said he would have to end services to about 125 seniors. About 400 seniors benefit from the program annually.

Lori Brown, director of Aging & Long-Term Care of Southeast Washington, based in Yakima, said all of the programs slated for cuts help keep people in their own homes, which is considerably less expensive than nursing home care.

"There has to be another solution besides an all-cuts budget," Brown said.

* Leah Beth Ward can be reached at 509-577-7626 or lward@yakimaherald.com.

Programs slated for cuts

* Senior Citizens Services Act, which helps seniors access health care, manage their medications and find assistance with grocery and medical bills

* Transportation services for those living outside transit service routes

* Family Caregiver Support Program, which helps unpaid family caregivers by providing respite care and assistance finding supplies

* Senior nutrition, Meals on Wheels and meal sites

* Senior foot care, bathing assistance

* Creative Health Options, day programs for developmentally disabled adults