Nevada Senior Advocates Form Association to Address Cutbacks

With budget cuts eroding the ability to continue their missions, a group of longtime Nevada senior advocates met recently to form a state association to advocate for senior issues.

Janice Ayres, Executive Director of the Nevada Rural Counties Retired and Senior Volunteer (RSVP) Program, is the newly elected President of the group incorporated as the Nevada Senior Corps Association (NSCA).

According to Ayres, the catalyst for this collaborative effort was the threat of 63 social service agencies losing 1.2 billion dollars in funding. Ayres said the funds have kept over 35,000 frail homebound seniors at home and out of institutions for the past eight years, and would continue to do so for 17 more years. Ayres learned that a proposal was on the table for the June 27, Special Legislative Session to securitize the 1.2 billion dollar Tobacco Settlement Funds, legislated in 2001 for senior Independent Living Grants. The funds were being considered to to make up the state budget deficit.

The founders of the nonprofit NSCA say state budget cuts have already left their mark on the ability of programs to serve Nevada's fast-growing senior population. Taking dollars from the state's Tobacco Settlement Fund would pose a serious threat to these programs.

Tobacco Settlement Funds are used to provide essential human services for the state's senior and disabled populations through Independent Living Grants. The grants are administered by the Nevada Division for Aging Services, supporting scores of senior focused programs including: a statewide telephone-assistance program that connects people with human services (Nevada 2-1-1); the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, and CareChest of Northern Nevada which runs an assistive technology program that helps 760 elders live independently.