Budget cuts force cutbacks at senior centers in Waynesboro, Staunton

The Valley Program for Aging Services Board of Directors has trimmed the budget of the senior services agency by $207,500, beginning October 1. The cuts were spurred by an unexpected 20 percent reduction in federal and state funding.

“No one who is currently receiving VPAS services will lose them due to budgetary constraints,” noted Lorie M. Smith, Board Chair. “The directors and staff of VPAS are highly committed to continuing provision of high quality services. We are actively pursuing methods of securing additional resources and examining all our programs to be sure we remain an agile, relevant, and accessible source for all the issues related to the aging process.”

The most obvious expense reductions are at the Staunton and Waynesboro Senior Centers, which will close each Friday. Other savings were realized by changes in staffing at Maury River Senior Center in Buena Vista, in the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, and in the way restricted governmental funds are utilized.

VPAS Executive Director Jeri Schaff said that staff and volunteers spent many hours over two months to analyze all programs of the organization. VPAS serves those 60 and older with home- and community-based services as the Area Agency on Aging for the five counties and five cities of Planning District 6.

“Although we are a nonprofit organization, we are also a business,” Schaff explained. “We did our best to reduce the impact on staff and on those we serve while still living within our means.”

Smith pointed out that the loss of support is due solely to population shift. “We expected a small loss because of the continuing growth in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, but we did not anticipate cuts of this magnitude.”

She explained that when the Staunton, Augusta, Waynesboro area was designated a Metropolitan Statistical Area, VPAS lost the additional federal and state funds that are awarded to organizations that serve rural areas.

“The next few months will be an exciting time,” Schaff noted. “We will be looking at partnerships to offer new programs, the Board of Directors will be finishing their work on our new Strategic Plan, and we will use this opportunity to boost our efforts to determine how to continue to serve our existing clients, while offering different resources that better suit the needs of a new generation of retirees.”