Santa Clarita Senior Senior to Reduce Services

With increasing costs and a stagnant budget, the Santa Clarita Senior Center finds that it can no longer operate at the level it has for the last several years.

The Senior Center will start closing at 4:30pm daily, eliminating the popular evening programs.

The budget crisis has many different causes, including some that were known issues and others that were more recent surprises. Among the newer issues is the fact Los Angeles County will no longer be subsidizing their utility bills. This in itself is a cost of about $35,000, but the loss of Federal matching funds could double the effect of this cut. Also contributing to the funding shortages are the increased demands on the Senior Center from the growing seniors population and the increased demand for seniors meals.

The Santa Clarita Senior Center serves more than just seniors. Other non-profit groups use their facilities as well, including the Santa Clarita Concert Band, the College of the Canyons Extension program, and classes for English as a second language.

The Senior Center is hoping that planned fundraisers will help them to meet their goals this year. Corporate giving is also down, so any assistance that local businesses can provide to the Senior Center will certainly be appreciated.

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