Are Senior Nutrition Sites Closing?

Last summer was a bummer. We had a free-for-all mayoral election that saw less than ten percent of voters electing a new mayor here in Trenton. It only gets worse. We seem to be mired in a muddy outdated path that would bog down a kid's bike.

It somehow comes as no surprise that a rumor is floating around once again that senior centers are closing.

To be sure, Mayor Mack had some problems keeping his promise to get seniors to and from their nutrition sites in the city, but most of that has been solved by this writing. Whatever van service is available is now overshadowed by the current spectre of shutdown because of Governor's Christie's cutbacks.

A reliable source has told me that senior centers are going to be closed on Fridays.

If you presently rely on the nutrition sites as a food source, you will be able to go Monday thru Thursday. The sites are slated to close Friday thru Sunday, re-opening on Monday.

This latest "collateral damage" of the Governor's quest for fiscal credibility among the nation's Republicans, once again comes at the expense of the elderly, our most vulnerable residents.

I am told the cutbacks are slated for this spring.

When the campaigning Governor visited nutrition sites last year, he was shown the most glamorous and nifty ones. Granted they do exist...Hamilton's even has a swimming pool. But residents from out of the Hamilton area are not permitted to enjoy those facilities. In Ewing and some other suburban areas you can find lovely tables and sunny settings that impress politicians.

That is not the case with many inner city sites. In fact, it is not the case with most of the sites which exist for real needs: a decent meal and safe place to play games and watch TV.

I have to point out that such simple things are not available to many shut-ins. Now they are going to be out of reach to many who have been attending on a regular basis.

Granted, attendance at nutrition sites has not been representative of those who are qualified to attend, either by income or age. The critical elements of transportation and site location have to be just right, or else the person is not able to make the trip. Also those elders who volunteer or still go out to work are not in the 11:00am to 1:00pm window for lunch and bingo.

Some transportation funding is linked to services for seniors and the disabled and is reported to be in crisis mode. I wonder if there is a connection here to the nutrition center cutbacks.

Perhaps the cut to senior programs could be a result of the Governor's restructuring Atlantic City Casino revenue. The Casino Revenue Fund is part of the state constitution and was instituted when gambling was approved. Seniors were to get their monies off the top. We have no update on the status of the CRF but if AC revenues are down it would make sense that the CRF would drop proportionately.

I would personally like to be reassured that the Governor did not plan to lap up our monies the way he did to the TV subsidy monies last summer.

Is your stomach growling yet? Just wait. Its a long weekend from Thursday to Monday for no real dinner for those thousands who have come to depend on the centers for help.

Seniors rock...and vote.

Governor Christie blotted out the television subsidies assessed to cable and network providers and took our money for the state's general fund. It is not farfetched to think he could be using our Friday meal money for his own priorities.

Governor Christie, you were not elected to do this to people who trusted you.

I hope that the Governor's outreach and advisors take the time to garner sufficient information to make truly helpful programs once again available in this state. Closing centers is a step in the wrong direction.

Seniors rock.