By Cherie Traverse
Threats of budget cuts from the municipal government have those that run home-support services in the city worried about the future.
The annual budget for the City of Ottawa will be presented to council on April 1. Some home-support groups are afraid that their funding could be reduced.
“People feel the city is in tough shape, financially. Services such as home-support are not on the list of priorities,” says Lee McCarthy, executive director of Ottawa West Home Support. “Issues such as fire and safety are on the top of that list.”
Home-support services, funded by municipal and provincial governments, provide assistance to seniors so they can live at home.
Support services have seen a decrease in city funding of five per cent each year over the past two years.
The total funding for the six groups amounted to about $149,000.
With the upcoming budget, and no contract, groups are uncertain about their future.
This year also marks the end of a three year contract which saw the city fund senior services, including Good Companions.
Good Companions provide home-support services in Centretown. They include visits to lonely seniors, bus services to grocery stores and help with house cleaning and heavier maintenance such as yard work.
Margo Borenstein, executive director of Good Companions, says: “We are concerned that the city may be making cuts to services we provide. But, as of now we have no idea what’s going to happen.”
Dan Shenier, manager of the city’s leisure services branch, which provides funding to Good Companions, wouldn’t say whether home-support funding would be cut because the budget has not been presented to council or public groups.
Whatever the city has in store for these services, a lot of groups will seriously have to re-examine their options, says Christine Dawson, project manager for the Council on Aging of Ottawa-Carleton.
“The services will have to take a serious look at their programs and how they will continue to provide them in the future,” she says.