AAASWA announces it's still open

Last week, the Area Agency on Aging of Southwest Arkansas (AAASWA) announced that it was still in the business of providing services to senior citizens across the area.

The recent closure of the Southwest Arkansas Development Council – whose name and services are similar to the Area Agency on Aging of Southwest Arkansas – has produced a huge volume of telephone calls from concerned elderly citizens regarding the local services.

According to AAASWA Executive Director Ruthie Langston, her organization will not be closing and will continue to provide services to seniors at a reduced rate. She said that state and federal funding allocations for senior services had been dramatically reduced since 2011. She also noted that the allocations are determined by a “funding formula” which uses census data of those aged 60 and above in each Arkansas county.

To combat these funding cuts, Langston said she had reduced staff hours at AAASWA from five days per week to four days per week to balance the budget for the 2018 fiscal year. She has also scheduled the senior center services to reflect the funding amount for each county. Due to local population differences, some senior centers are operating on a three-day per week schedule, while others follow a four- or five-day program.

At a June 6 meeting held at Hempstead Hall in Hope, Division of Aging and Adult Services Director Craig Cloud informed attending mayors, county judges, legislators, and interested parties that he is aware of the financial situation in southwest Arkansas, but said that nothing can be done to remedy the current predicament during the 2018 fiscal year. He also stated that he is committed to helping senior citizens and will assist where he can in the next funding year. The current 2018 fiscal year began July 1.