Poor economy taking toll on senior citizens

I found this information so disturbing. I do have a financial expert coming in to talk to seniors about other options. This Event is May 21st at 7pm at The Harbor Court 22900 Center Ridge Road Rocky River, OH Please RSVP to Kathi 440-863-5017.


CLEVELAND — The bad economy has left growing numbers of Cuyahoga County senior citizens hungry, homeless and at risk of family violence.

That was the grim outlook painted Monday by social service providers during a forum sponsored by McGregor Foundation and the Center for Community Solutions' Council on Older Persons. The event drew about 80 people to McGregor's senior citizen complex in East Cleveland.

"We're seeing seniors losing their homes. We're seeing seniors having to abandon their apartments because of the inability to pay for things like utilities," said Steve Wertheim, director of United Way's 211/First Call for Help line. "I could go on and on."

Older homeowners have been particularly vulnerable to predatory lenders and unscrupulous home repair companies, officials said.

First Call for Help's figures showed the number of seniors ages 60 and up referred to homeless shelters grew from 83 in 2005 to 150 in 2008, and the number of seniors needing foreclosure help leaped from 46 to 695 during the same period.

Help line operators also fielded 224 calls from seniors seeking help finding a job in 2008, as compared with 73 in 2005. Wertheim noted similar increases in calls for help with utilities and food.

Luther Smith, 80, a Cleveland senior activist invited to share his financial story, explained that a fixed income doesn't go as far as it once did, because costs for utilities, food and even bus fare are rising.

One-third of his $860 monthly income goes to his rented home, said Smith, lightening the mood by explaining that he could live cheaper in senior housing but prefers not to live in a "high-rise senior closet." To save money, he goes without a phone. "I don't have cable and I don't have the new converter box either."

Susan Axelrod, director of the Cuyahoga County Department of Senior and Adult Services, detailed other problems facing seniors, including an increased threat of violence in some homes where a grandparent's social security check may be the only income a family can count on.

"When financial times get worse, incidents of adult abuse go up," she said. "These are tense situations that unfortunately spill over to abuse and neglect, and we are definitely seeing that."

As senior citizen needs expand, some funding is tightening. At 12 local Golden Age Centers, which provide hot meals to seniors, two of its largest grants have been slashed by a third. "We're at the point where we might have to start cutting services," said Chief Executive Officer Jim Armour.

Attendees were urged to press state legislators to provide funding for in-home care, respite for Alzheimer caregivers and to protect seniors from abuse.

Rob Hilton, McGregor Foundation president, said he hopes to work with other philanthropic partners to produce at least $1 million to help meet basic needs for seniors.