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Senior service providers, volunteers urge San Jose to restore older‑adults health and wellness grants
Summary
Several nonprofit legal and counseling groups told the council proposed cuts to the Older Adults Health and Wellness grants would reduce counseling, legal assistance and Medicare navigation for low‑income seniors and multilingual clients. Providers said elimination of roughly $526,000 would force service reductions at multiple senior centers.
Representatives of nonprofit legal services, Medicare counseling programs and senior center volunteers asked San Jose councilmembers not to eliminate Older Adults Health and Wellness grant funding during the city’s budget process, saying cuts would reduce counseling and legal assistance for low‑income and non‑English‑speaking seniors.
Lede: Multiple speakers, including attorneys and program directors for senior legal aid and health‑insurance counseling, described how grant funds support one‑on‑one Medicare counseling, legal representation on evictions and elder abuse cases, and bilingual outreach at senior centers. They said the proposed PRNS cut—about $526,000 in one staff presentation—would force service reductions or closure at several senior‑center sites.
What providers said. Michelle Schroeder of Senior Adults Legal Assistance (SALA) noted the organization uses grant funding to serve older adults at nine senior centers across the city and that losing funds would mean fewer services or elimination at multiple sites. Georgia Basile of SALA and other speakers from Sourcewise and the health insurance counseling program described an operational reliance on those funds to provide bilingual counseling, basic legal planning (powers of attorney), and screening for benefits programs.
Why it matters: The programs help people avoid eviction, access benefits and prevent elder abuse. Counselors and volunteers said the city’s senior population is growing and that many clients speak languages other than English; losing grants would reduce equity‑focused services in languages such as Spanish and Vietnamese.
City response and next steps. PRNS and budget staff acknowledged grant reductions are tied to available grant revenue this year and said some grants will roll over or be rebudgeted if programs continue into the next fiscal year. Councilmembers pressed departments for details and asked staff to provide additional information on which sites and services would be affected if the funding is cut.
Public comment highlighted program impact. Speakers provided client examples—such as monolingual Spanish‑speaking older adults who rely on bilingual counselors to navigate Medicare/Medi‑Cal—and urged council to preserve funding so existing bilingual counselors and volunteer counselors can continue serving seniors across community centers.
Ending note. Providers asked the council to maintain the Older Adults Health and Wellness grants in the recommended budget or identify alternate funding to preserve counseling and legal services at senior sites across the city.
