HAMILTON, Ohio — Butler County announced this week that it received a state grant of about $942,000 for senior services.
The Butler County Administrator said the Health Aging Grant aims to improve the quality of life for seniors and help them to stay in their homes.
The Board of Commissioners has until the end of June to decide exactly how to spend it, but there are some requirements: 20% of the grant must be used for food assistance, 20% for housing assistance and 10% for internet access and digital literacy.
The county already contracts with the Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio to offer services including home meal delivery, transportation to doctor's appointments and even some in-home care to help with things like bathing.
"These services are very personal for people because without them they would lose their independence and need to move — in many cases — to a nursing facility to receive their care," Ken Wilson, the Vice President of Program and Business Operations for the Council on Aging said.
Overall, he said the goal is to help seniors stay in their homes and live as independently as possible.
"You can think of us as a nursing home without walls," Wilson said. "The demand for these services is going up and also the cost of providing these services has also increased."
He said this funding could help to prevent waitlists for these services next year.
The Board of Commissioners is still in the early stages of deciding where the money will go.
"Are there people who fall through the cracks because those programs don't meet their needs?" Vice President Cindy Carpenter asked during Monday's board meeting.
Wilson said while using the funding for existing programs would have a big impact, there are a few other ideas he's discussing with the commissioners too.
"Like home modifications for example or people are really struggling with their utility bills, that's another thing that we could explore," he said.
The county must decide where the money will go by the end of June and must use the money by the end of September 2024.
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