SCSA Added Back to Governor's Second Budget; Uncertainty Remains

Doug Ricker and Karen Winston, ADS Planners

Kathi Church, a Case Manager with the Aging and Disability Services Case Management Program, shares one of many SCSA success stories.

On January 12, Governor Gregoire released a second budget proposal which restored the proposed cut to the state Senior Citizens Services Act (SCSA). The previous budget had proposed a cut of 65% to this "workhorse" program, highlighted in the previous issue of Seniors Digest.

The Governor proposes to "buy back" this and other cuts with revenue increases. However, she has not yet outlined what these revenue sources would be. Also, the program faces a tough battle in the legislature, which could still elect to cut the program despite the Governor's new proposal.

A statewide gathering of concerned citizens—including several ADS Advisory Council members—will head to Olympia on February 18 to support the Governor's new budget, and voice their opposition to any cuts in SCSA. This event, called "Senior Lobby Day," is held every year, and this one will be particularly important for aging network programs.

Please check the Senior Lobby web site for further information.

SCSA funds a variety of services in King County, including:

• Senior Information & Assistance (I&A), serving as the gateway to a wide variety of resources and programs through its phone bank, provider database, and other services.
  
  
• Discretionary Case Management, serving vulnerable adults who "fall through the cracks" of the regular Medicaid system.
  
  
• The PEARLS depression intervention program, which provides in-home counseling for mild to moderate depression.
  
  
• Volunteer Transportation Program, which provides rides to medical and other appointments for vulnerable and homebound elders through the use of volunteers and other cost-effective approaches

The final budget will be passed by the legislature sometime in March and reviewed and approved (with some changes possible) by the Governor a few days or weeks after that.

We would like to share with you the story of Tekle Hagos, who appears in the top story of this issue of Seniors Digest, and whom you might recall meeting in the January Digest. The experience of Mr. Hagos is a great example of how SCSA-funded programs support seniors who wish to be as independent and productive as possible.

SCSA Programs Help Tekle Hagos, Who Once Again Helps Others

Tekle (pronounced "Tek-lay") Hagos' name means "fruit or seed of the apostle." He was born the youngest of three siblings in the small county of Eritrea in the horn of Africa, and his life is definitely the reflection of a seed springing forth, bearing fruit, and enhancing many lives.

Tekle Hagos currently works as a part-time Assistant Program Aide for the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department, at the Garfield Community Center. He lives at the Bart Harvey, a new 50 unit "green" apartment complex for low-income seniors located near South Lake Union. Mr. Hagos acquired housing and employment with the assistance of the Aging and Disability Services Case Management Program, and the Mayor's Office for Senior Citizens' 55+ Employment Program. Following a brief encounter with homelessness, Mr. Hagos feels very blessed to be where he is at this stage in his life.

Mr. Hagos was educated in England, Holland and Italy, and has a rich background in farming and agriculture. As a young man he worked for the Ministry of Agriculture in Ethiopia and developed an expertise in the production and maintenance of banana crops. He was responsible for plantation operations that produced over $10 million in revenue a year. Continuing in his career he later became a consultant to the Ministry of Commerce and Agro-Industry in Ethiopia, managing commodities to other African countries, the Middle East and Europe.

Life was very good for Mr. Hagos and his family until the Marxist Revolution began in the 1970s. Then, war broke out in Ethiopia. Forced to spend about six months in jail, upon release Mr. Hagos sought refuge in the United States where he lived in Dallas, Texas for 10 years. There he worked for a very profitable landscaping company, but when oil prices plummeted in the 1990s, the company fell into disarray. Taking advice from a colleague, Mr. Hagos relocated to Washington State. He knew no one in Seattle, but successfully found employment and housing. But hard times hit again when his health took a downturn, which resulted in him being homeless.

That's when Mr. Hagos met Kathi Church, a Case Manager with the Aging and Disability Services Case Management Program. "My first impression of Tekle was what an intelligent, engaging and motivated person he is," says Church. "He wasn't looking to be rescued; he wanted direction on how to find and navigate the system in search of the resources he so desperately needed." Through collaboration with the Downtown Emergency Service Center Connections Program, the Mayor's Office for Senior Citizens 55+ Employment Program, Senior Information & Assistance, and the Senior Care Clinic at Harborview Hospital, Mr. Hagos' life was again stabilized.

Thankful for the assistance he received, Mr. Hagos has made it his mission to work to improve access for Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somalian elders to mainstream programs. "My vision is to help them know where to turn to find the help and assistance they need," he says.