SPOTSWOOD–The Borough Council approved a resolution authorizing a grant agreement for the Office on Aging to provide services for minority and poverty affected seniors.
The Office on Aging (OOA) grant/agreement is between with the County of Middlesex for Information and Assistance in the amount of $6,000. The grant will provide a minimum number of clients, age 60 and over, targeting poverty, minority and seniors with information on services and opportunities available within the communities, according to the council agenda.
Borough Administrator Dawn McDonald said that the borough applies for this grant annually.
“The money for the grant is used by our office to offset personnel and supply costs associated with providing low income and minority seniors information about the various social assistance programs available to them,” Office on Aging Director Donna Faulkenberry said.
The council approved the resolution during the Oct. 15 council meeting.
Some social assistance programs include: Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD); Medicare savings programs, energy assistance programs like Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)/Universal Service Fund (USF) and Lifeline, New Jersey’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and property tax reimbursement programs, according to Faulkenberry.
“We publicize the programs through our various communication channels, [such as] newsletter, email blast, website and Facebook, we screen them for eligibility and assist with applications and any follow-up communication from the various agencies that process these benefits,” Faulkenberry said. “We also provide resources and referrals to social agencies who process their own applications.”
The term of the agreement will be effect from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2019, according to the agenda.
In other business, the council also approved a resolution authorizing the OOA a $7,000 grant/agreement with the Middlesex County Office of Aging and Disabled Services to provide residential maintenance services for seniors.
“Residential maintenance funds are only used to assist seniors in their homes. Most of it is used to pay local contractors to do home safety repairs and modifications for income-eligible residents,” Faulkenberry said. “We also purchase home safety items [such as] flashlights, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors that we distribute to help keep seniors safer in their homes.”
The term of the agreement will be in effect during the same timeframe.
For more information visit www.spotswoodboro.com/agenda10152018.html.
Contact Vashti Harris at [email protected].