AARP to Rally Against State Budget Reductions
Monday, November 16, 2009
FRANKFORT, Ky. - AARP Kentucky and other senior groups are holding a rally today at the State Capitol to protest additional cuts to services for the elderly. Kentucky seniors are warning the governor and legislators to put down the budget ax and hold up on repeated cuts to aging and home-based services in the state. Preventing more budget cuts is the top priority for AARP in the 2010 General Assembly, Kentucky's state legislature.
Nelda Barnett, AARP Kentucky state president, says it's important to protect state services that allow thousands of seniors and citizens with disabilities to be cared for in their homes.
"The governor and our legislators know that to cut the cost of aging services is going to be cutting in pretty deep into the in-home services."
Barnett says aging and independent living services in the state have already been through a round of cuts the past three years.
According to AARP, 89 percent of Americans over 50 years of age want to remain in their homes as long as possible.
"In my 35 years of working in the aging program, I've never heard a senior say, 'I can hardly wait until I can get into a nursing home.'"
Barnett added that basic home and community support services must become non-negotiable priorities as the Governor and General Assembly struggle with even more spending cuts in their attempts to balance the budget.
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