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meals for holidays and it is our hope, if we can find additional monies, we will be able to provide meals for week ends.

We applied for and were certified to accept for Meals-On-Wheels, and more recently the center and satellite sites, food stamps as donations from our elderly. The Quinebaug Valley Senior Citizens Center, Inc. is Grantee Agency for all three programs that are operated from the center, which while independently funded are completely inter-related as shown above. The kitchen at our center is presently preparing, serving and delivering 2,000 meals weekly. Your attention is invited to the attached organizational chart, appendix I, which points out the actual management and operation of the two elderly programs funded by the Older Americans Act as well as the third program, which is state funded. The governing board of directors of the Grantee Agency is comprised of the executive committee of the center members, one delegate appointed by each of the local ten-town officials and representatives from other local service agencies. Our Title III funding which supports the center began with $15,000 in Federal Funds and local contributions and has grown to $30,000 in Federal Funds in its fourth year, matched by 51% local cash and in-kind donations. The Title VII Graut has a funding level of $6,667 from local sources.

Representatives from the Boston Regional Office, Region I, Administration On Aging have photographed and evaluated the Meals Program at our center, prior to the start of any Title VII Program. Slides of the center's programs, meals and kitchen were used in lectures throughout New England and Washington as one of the Model Meals Programs in Region I.

The Governor and local state and federal representatives and senators have visited our center and all have gone away impressed. Impressed not only with the physical center but by the people who are the center and by the happiness and well-being their tax dollars are bringing to the people.

We have scrounged and receive from local merchants for the center, merchandise such as draperies, fabrics, bathroom fixtures, lumber, shop equipment, used appliances and discounts on food purchases for our kitchen.

The seniors of the center hold weekly whist and penny social evenings which earn $1,000 yearly in project income. Special periodic open house events are conducted at the center such as bazaars, auctions, an annual Palm Sunday breakfast and exhibits in County Fairs where items made by the seniors of the center, help promote between $2,500-$3,000 in project income yearly.

We have met and are presently meeting with local town officials to present and discuss our budget requirements for the center to assure local town approval and support. Our statistics are documented based on the number of seniors participating from each town and the share requested has been a 25¢ contribution per capita town population. In the three years of budget requests from the towns, with a $1,000 total local contribution received in our first budget, we have increased local cash support to a total of $10,600 from six of the ten towns as indicated below:

Brooklyn

Eastford

Killingly

$1,800 Plainfield

200 Putnam
3, 500 Woodstock

$3, 100 1,500

500

Each town when they saw the benefits of the center wanted to contribute, but do not have the substantial funds to run the type of program we have at the Quinebaug Valley Senior Citizens Center. Ours is a model program. Towns, several of them spending almost 100% on education, can not be expected to help us in our funding. Are we to close the center and all its programs because the Department on Aging can not expand Federal or State funds to keep us alive? We need this money to stay alive as core money. Ten or fifteen thousand dollars does not establish a program to go after needs. Many of our seniors would be institutionalized or dead, if not for our center, the meal they get as well as the social atmosphere to eradicate the loneliness that old age brings.

Respectfully submitted.

LILLIAN PITSCHMANN, Director.

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Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS,

NORTH-CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA,
COMMUNITY ACTION ASSOCIATION, INC.,

Fairmont, W. Va., January 31, 1975.

Select Subcommittee on Education, Rayburn Building, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. BRADEMAS: I was pleased to receive your news release for hearings on the extension of the Older Americans Comprehensive Service Amendments. As a project director for a Title VII Program I feel very strongly that the program needs to be continued and expanded. Our rural area is in extreme need of transportation to allow more people to make use of the program and services. Services to the elderly need to be improved and continued instead of being cut by our President. Our Seniors are just now getting a few of the programs that they deserve. Why put them back into isolation by cutting down the amount of money allocated to these programs?

Let's have our youth oriented society have a few concerns for those sixty and

over.

The Nutrition Program not only improves diets of those sixty and over but these people are taking a new interest or lease on life.

Let's think about how it is going to be for us when we reach the age of 60. Are we going to be the forgotten group? I certainly hope not.

Please continue this important legislation in the Older Americans Act, it is a very good program.

Sincerely,

To: Wayne Wedin, Brea City Manager.

DIANTHA B. LA VOIE,

Project Director.

BREA, CALIF., February 27, 1975.

From: Joe Bowley, Human Services Coordinator.
Subject: Working with our senior citizens program.

In an attempt to depict our involvement with our senior citizens program, we felt we could best describe to our readers of this report previous writings, pictures and stories from our local newspapers and a brief statement showing what our joint Revenue Sharing Grant with Brea-La Habra is doing for our older Americans. A tremendous impact has been made in our City, as you will be able to. see, by bringing in broker services such as: Transportation, Lunch, Counseling (TLC) program; Meals on Wheels; Senior Citizens Employment program; and a City sponsored senior citizens group called the Forever Young Club with over 400 members.

SENIOR CITIZENS EMPLOYMENT

The Revenue Sharing Grant states that we may hire 17 older Americans. Before doing this, a great amount of thought went into the planning as to how we would place them throughout our City. The entire City Council, our City Manager and total staff support were given to our philosophy that these positions would be people oriented, people helping people and self-help. We were not about to place them in non-meaningful jobs, such as custodians or street cleaners. We had no problem filling these positions, in fact, we are requesting more positions at this time as we got started late with our Grant and will have some extra money. Some of our job orders consist of the following:

In our Tiny Tots program, they are teachers aides, helping children in story telling, game playing, etc.

In our schools, the older Americans help children in the library, by reading to and story telling, supervision in recreation, locker problems and creative arts. Through our ACT office, they refer calls to our Brea Welfare, Polyanna Group, TLC program, Meals on Wheels and the ACT case workers for emergency situations. Out of this office they also operate what is called "Operation Contact" for our shut-ins.

Our transportation personnel provide transportation for our TLC program. the poor and disadvantaged. They take people to the doctor, dentist and shopping and also make home visits to our shut-ins.

Out of the Social Services office we administer our Youth Employment Service for youth from 14 to 21 years of age.

Our Social Services information and referral person is developing a booklet with some 205 different types of human services that will be printed and dis tributed to our Brea residents sometime in the early part of 1975.

We have one position that works with the Orange County Probation Depart ment, setting up appointments and helping the probation officer to plan programs with the girls.

At our Police Department we have one of our older Americans that assists the School Resources Officer and the Crime Prevention Officer.

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Monthly meetings are most productive with these staff. We cover many of our programs we are developing and implementing into our community. They play a major role in carrying out, not only their own responsibilities on the job, but acting as communicator to our overall delivery of service related to shut-ins, youth employment programs and information and referral services. They did an outstanding job at our Open House in communicating to the public their involvement.

SENIOR CITIZENS LEISURE TIME PROGRAM

Our Social Services Specialist spends much of her time in advising, acting as consultant, and planning programs with our Forever Young Club. Following is material covering her involvement this past quarter.

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Staff are presently involved with two other important programs. First.-A Senior Citizens Booklet that will be completed within the month of March that we feel will be a model for many cities throughout Orange County. This booklet will consist of the following material.

A. Role of the City as a sponsor.

B. Role of the Club in carrying out their responsibilities relating to their goals and objectives.

C. Role of Staff.

D. Complete set of By-Laws.

E. Responsibilities of their Officers and Committee Chairpersons.

F. Guidelines for their Kitchen Band.

Second. We have a 76 year old woman acting as an information and referral person on our staff that would equal any professional in the field of social services. For several months now she has been gathering data from nearly 200 agencies providing service to our City, directly or indirectly. The material she has been gathering will go into a printed booklet for every resident in the City of Brea. Aside from this, she is also an art teacher. She teaches art classes for our City Recreation Division one day a week and we can assure you she is an outstanding art instructor with paintings of her own known throughout California. One of the most enjoyable times is when our Senior Citizens Staff gather for their monthly review meetings to convey to each other what is happening and what each of them is doing in their work experience. It also gives staff an opportunity to share new programs with them and allows for interchange of ideas and to make need assessments.

In summary let us say that we see our older American employees as creative, productive and doing an immeasurable job for our City. We see our Brea Senior Citizens Forever Young Club as the "Swingers of Brea" which they have often been called. Our TLC program is rated the best out of eleven sites in our County as the leader of programs and service to its consumers. Our Meals on Wheels program has been the model of several in our County to help get others started. Let us assure you, our Senior Citizens in the City of Brea have not been shelved nor discarded as they best describe it in the following manner, "We have something to live for."

BREA JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL,
Brea, Calif., January 27, 1975.

Re: Ida Hillman and Dale Bidwell.

Mr. JOE BOWLEY,

City of Brea,

Brea, Calif.

DEAR JOE: I would like to say at this stage of the game that your program concerning the senior citizens in the Brea community has been of great benefit to our school. Both Dale and Ida are competent and warm, understanding people who have aided our program tremendously.

I would like to congratulate you on your fine efforts. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,

JAMES A. SETTERLUND, Principal.

[From the Daily News Tribune, Feb. 14, 1975]

OLD CHRONOLOGICALLY, BUT YOUNG IN SPIRIT

BREA.-Old in years but young in spirit.

That's probably the best way to describe the TLC King and Queen who were chosen recently and will reign over the Brea 58th Birthday Party next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Community Center, 500 S. Sievers Ave.

They are John La Roche, 94, (who looks about 65), and Mrs. Ann Simonsen, 87, who also seems much younger.

The pair was chosen at the daily Transportation-Luncheon-Counseling program at Brea Congregational Church, which includes luncheons and special classes for those 65 and older.

La Roche said he'll be 95 the day after the Brea Birthday party, on Feb. 21. He's lived here seven years, and in California 20 years.

Born in Chicago Heights, Ill., "30 miles south of Chicago," he said, "I've been a barber all my life."

Married twice, both times to widows, he said, "I've lost track" of the number of his grandchildren. His first wife had two children and this second three. "I hate to tell my age because people don't realize how old I am," he said. “I was born in 1880, so you can figure it out."

Mrs. Simonsen is a widow, who has lived in Brea at various times since 1924. She comes from central Iowa. Her husband died several years ago and had worked for Union Oil Co., for 18 years.

She has three children, six grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter who is 22 years old so she is anxiously wondering if she will have a great-great-granddaughter, one of these days.

[From the Daily Star-Progress, Nov. 8, 1974]

SOCIAL SERVICES OPEN HOUSE MARKS OFFICIAL DEDICATION
(By Katie Dean)

BREA.-The city's social services division opened last June, but Thursday night marked its official opening, and on hand to celebrate, were city officials, members of the community and the complete social services staff including 13 recently hired senior citizens.

Mayor Leonard MacKain briefly explained that the social services program comes under a two year county revenue sharing interest shared by the cities of

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