MOUNT VERNON – The Station Break Senior Center in Mount Vernon is one of 53 senior centers receiving a portion of $5.3 million in coronavirus relief funds from the Ohio Department of Aging.
A press release from the ODA said most of the funds would support nutrition services, including home-delivered and congregate meals.
According to the department’s website, The Station Break will receive $144,100. Morrow County Services for Older Citizens in the neighboring county will receive $21,900, and the Licking County Aging Program Inc. was awarded $111,200.
The Station Break reported in its recent newsletter that as of Sept. 30, it had delivered 2,966 on-site meals and 41,008 home-delivered meals.
The funds are intended to assist with the safe re-opening and operation of meal programs, including costs associated with COVID-19 cleaning and sanitation supplies, personal protective equipment, emergency preparedness procedures and protocols, preparation supplies, technology solutions and other expenses.
“At the same time that the pandemic caused booming demand for nutrition services for older adults, providers found their capacity to provide them decreased and the cost of services increased,” said Ursel J. McElroy, director of the department. “Yet, many senior centers and adult day services providers persevered to meet the needs of older adults in their communities. We thank them for their dedication, and we continue to seek ways to support these vital services and providers.”
The department solicited applications for coronavirus relief funding in September. The funds were awarded to the State of Ohio as federal financial assistance. All adult day service providers and senior centers were eligible to apply. The 75 awardees serve older adults in 42 Ohio counties.
The Ohio Office of Budget and Management will begin making the relief payments to approved providers this month. The funding is a continuation of state efforts to support Ohio’s aging services by offsetting some of the costs related to safely providing services while following current CDC and Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 guidelines and protocols.
To learn about available nutrition programs, contact your area agency on aging. Call 866-243-5678 to be connected to the agency serving your community or visit www.aging.ohio.gov/findservices to look up local contacts.
