From:
To: City Council
Cc: Don Schwartz; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Proposed Budget: SASC
Date: Friday, March 8, 2024 4:51:03 PM
Diana Rich, Mayor
Stephen Zollman, Vice Major
Neysa Hinton
Sandra Mauer
Jill McLewis
By dropping into the Sebastopol Area Senior Center (SASC) or by perusing the schedule of activities one sees, well; indications of active Seniors. This segment of our community is pursuing ways to stay active and connected while contending with an array of medical and social issues unique to the aging process and they live for the most part on a fixed income.
What is unseen and difficult to measure is the SASC role in preventing the negative effects of aging. Movement and exercise leads to fewer falls and the need for emergency response. A café style meal has nutritional value that is hard to achieve in cooking for one or two.
Transportation means not deferring medical care and it takes stress off family members who are stretched with work and children. Joining with others offsets depression. Caregiver support eases the profound isolation and stress that can lead to greater medical and support needs.
That these support services are offered in a cheery sociable way could lead one to miss the fulfillment of critical needs. When you see SASC’s vibrant and robust programs, please also see that it is actually a well woven safety net of preventative support services that is not easy to quantify.
We strongly support the wisdom of a balanced budget, so we urge Sebastopol City Council members to delve into the very difficult task of weighing and determining the needs of the Sebastopol community. While doing so, please consider two points, first around 30% of Sebastopol is over age 60. Second, the General Plan Policy CSF 6-15: states in part, “Encourage services and programs that meet the needs of seniors within Sebastopol”.
Sebastopol very strongly supports the need for Senior Housing, and we applaud that. We would like to point out that with 30% of the population being Seniors and residing in Sebastopol, programing, not residency is the primary issue.
Respectfully,
Kathryn Rosser
Peter Rosser