Bob Cleveland, aging program planner with PTRC, told the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 5 that the county’s older‑adult population is growing and that current aging program funding and capacity leave significant service gaps. "We saw housing and home improvement become the number 1 need across 10 of our 12 counties, including Rockingham County," Cleveland said during a presentation to the board.

The presentation, delivered with packet materials, laid out demographic trends and program metrics. Cleveland said the county receives about $730,000 in a block grant (which, he said, requires a 10% local match) and that total aging funding into the county for FY 2026 was roughly $795,000. He contrasted those figures with Medicaid nursing‑home spending in the county—"for 2024, spent $26,000,000 on Medicaid nursing homes only"—to underscore the cost tradeoffs of institutional care versus home‑based supports.

Why it matters: presenters and residents said limited community supports push older adults into more expensive long‑term care. Cleveland highlighted program waiting lists: 192 people currently served by home‑delivered meals and 173 waiting; average wait times for meals described as 18–24 months, and longer waits for certain in‑home service levels.

Pam Drews, a local resident, gave personal testimony about family caregiver support: "This service not only helped my parents, they taught me how to take care of my parents," she said, describing respite and training that let her continue caregiving. Her account illustrated how limited program capacity and waiting lists affect families.

Officials and staff discussed operational constraints and next steps. Kathy Powers of ADTS, the program operator referenced in the presentation, said the short answer to whether the program could absorb all waitlisted clients immediately was "no," explaining the program relies heavily on volunteers and that additional routes and roughly 120 more volunteers would be required to remove the current meal wait list. Commissioner Richardson asked staff to include Kathy Powers’ recommendations in the county budget process; county staff confirmed the budget process begins this month and instructed staff to submit formal budget requests for board consideration.

Cleveland asked commissioners to use their access to state and federal legislators to advocate for higher block grant and senior center funding. He also said the senior center general‑purpose fund at the state level "has not changed in over 20 years," and that per‑center shares remain small; the transcript referenced an annual figure described as "still just below $11,000 for the year" for a share, though a separate spoken figure in the record was garbled in transcription.

Next steps: Commissioners directed staff to consider the program recommendations in upcoming budget deliberations. The board did not take a formal funding vote at the Jan. 5 meeting.