To the editor:

I am responding to Mr. Brett Feurer, who took issue with Proposition S.

Proposition S will provide additional local funding to assist seniors in remaining independent. I am a south county resident, and currently serve as a volunteer board member of the Mid -East Area Agency on Aging, or MEAAA, Foundation. MEAAA provides a variety of services for older adults such as Meals on Wheels and transportation services, and is supporting Proposition S.

Mr. Feurer wonders, “What benefit exactly are we getting in return for them (aging adults) to be able to stay in their homes forever?”

He fails to grasp the importance of older adults being able to live in their homes as long as possible. Setting aside the irrefutable benefits of assisting aging adults in living safely at home, eating healthy and offering transportation to medical providers, they can also delay or avoid unnecessary admission to long-term care facilities.

Avoiding the cost of long-term care facilities means not having to exhaust retirement funds, if any, and, consequently, not having to rely on taxpayer-supported public assistance. It costs up to five times as much to live in a nursing home than it does in one’s home, and in the next decade the number of persons age 85 or greater will double. The harsh reality is families and taxpayers will be called upon more than ever to financially support older adults. We can reduce the need and reliance on public assistance by passing Proposition S, which offers the proverbial win-win scenario.

Older adults receive the services they need to remain independent, and we as tax-payers also benefit.

Mr. Feurer questions whether the benefits of Proposition S will ever be available to him. I sincerely hope he will not need the services of MEAAA or other like agencies.

However, if Proposition S passes, I can say with confidence these types of services and benefits are far more likely to be available to him than if it is not passed.

Ed Fitzhenry

south county