Programs for Massachusetts seniors are in dire need of new funding in the wake of the state’s recent round of fiscal belt-tightening, say those who provide meals and other services to the elderly.
About $10.7 million out of $375 million in cuts announced this month by Governor Maura Healey affect services for seniors, providers said. With half the fiscal year still to go, some of those programs are now essentially unfunded until the next budget cycle.
“I’ve been on the phone nonstop trying to privately fund-raise,” said Valerie Frias, executive director at Ethos, a Boston nonprofit that serves seniors and people with disabilities.
The cuts, advocates say, are a step in the wrong direction in a state with a population older than the national median. Those 65 and older make up about 18 percent of the state’s population, or about 1.3 million people, according to US Census data, compared to 14 percent a decade ago.
“Our population is growing older, and they have expanding needs,” said Betsy Connell, executive director for the Massachusetts Association of Councils on Aging and Senior Center Directors. “We’re going to really need to be prepared for that.”
The budget trimming came after the state tallied six months of tax revenue that didn’t meet projections. At this fiscal year’s halfway mark, tax revenues were $769 million, or about 4 percent, below the state’s predictions. The cuts affected 66 state-funded programs, including behavioral health care services, cancer research, and homeless shelters.
Healey’s administration justified many of the cuts as adjustments that aligned budgets with the true demand this year. The Executive Office of Elder Affairs noted in a statement that the budget cuts don’t reflect a lack of commitment to senior issues, pointing to increased grants for councils on aging to cover $14 per senior, up from $12; a lowered income limit for the Medicare Savings Program; and several tax cuts for older residents all happening under Healey’s watch.
Thursday morning, Ethos held several programs it said were at risk after the budget cuts, including a yoga class and lunch for about 75 seniors. Thursday’s pop-up senior center, hosted twice a week by the West Roxbury Elks lodge, offers activities, food, and camaraderie. Some there said that without it, they would likely be stuck at home.
“It gets people out of the house,” said Gloria Savory, 86, who routinely comes to the pop-up from Mattapan with her sister, Carol, 89.
The yoga class’s funding source, an earmark, was halved, meaning the program has already used all its funding for this fiscal year. Frias said she is scrambling for donations and grant money to keep it running.
“I don’t want to see it close,” said Philippa Maynard, 91, who participated in the class, and takes technology courses through Ethos. “It keeps us active, and there’s a lot of education and knowledge given.”
Providers are particularly concerned about nutrition programs for seniors, which include food service such as Ethos’ and Meals on Wheels programs. The administration’s cuts took $1 million from a statewide elder nutrition program, reducing its budget to $11.8 million. That’s a smaller budget than the program had in fiscal year 2023.
The program received cuts because it was being used less than anticipated, Elder Affairs said in its statement, adding that the reductions won’t have an effect on food delivery services. The office also said it had not been notified of providers’ concerns.
That’s not the case, said Betsey Crimmins, executive director of Mass Home Care.
“They are very aware of providers with concerns,” she said. “That was all shared with them.”
Food programs typically run at a deficit, providers said, and several organizations said they do annual fund-raising to cover the costs.
Ethos raises $150,000 annually to ensure its food programs break even, Frias said. Just to keep the program at its current levels, she said, is now going to require an additional $250,000.
“I have to go to the outside again and hope that I can fund-raise for a quarter of a million dollars,” she said.
Programs such as Meals on Wheels, which served about 10 million meals in 2022, Crimmins said, need flexibility to adapt to the cost of food and unpredictable demand. The cuts may cause providers to struggle if demand increases. An older person discharged from the hospital could need meal services the next day, and Meals on Wheels providers have to be prepared to quickly add clients.
“We meet that request on demand, so meals go out the next day,” said Roseann Martoccia executive director of WestMass ElderCare. “This makes it harder to do that.”
Mystic Valley Elder Services, based in Malden, negotiated more expensive contracts with two catering businesses in the fall due to increased food and labor costs, said Lisa Gurgone, the chief executive. Now, she said, it isn’t clear it be able to afford them.
“If we don’t fund-raise, eventually we’ll run out of money and have to start a wait list,” she said.
Other providers said they would also struggle to compensate for the lost state aid and would have to refocus their funding on food programs at the expense of other services, like housing or mental health care.
“I understand that we’re facing budgeting difficulties,” Frias said. “I just don’t believe that these cuts should disproportionately impact some of the most vulnerable in the Commonwealth.”
Jason Laughlin can be reached at jason.laughlin@globe.com. Follow him @jasmlaughlin.