For Immediate Release:
September 30, 2008
Signatures going to Trenton
‘Paper plate’ petition drive aims to help senior citizens
Freeholder McMorrow working to restore transportation funding
FREEHOLD – About 600 senior citizens who attended the 2008 Senior Picnic hosted by the county’s Office on Aging did more than dance, socialize and enjoy boxed lunches. They signed paper plate petitions seeking more funding for senior transportation and the Meals on Wheels program.
"This is such an important issue for many of our senior citizens, particularly those who are homebound, because when the Meals on Wheels volunteer knocks on their door it is often the only hot meal and human interaction many of them will get all day,” Freeholder Barbara J. McMorrow said. “For many others, the county’s SCAT buses are the only transportation that is available to them.”
To help fund the Senior Citizen Area Transportation (SCAT) buses and the Meals on Wheels programs, McMorrow is asking legislators to provide more money from the Casino Revenue Fund. She launched the paper plate petition drive earlier this year and has collected thousands of signatures.
The paper plate campaign is part of a larger petition drive by the New Jersey Council on Special Transportation (NJ COST), a statewide advocacy association that for more than 25 years has provided information and support for community-based transit services. According to NJ COST, county transportation systems will lose nearly $4 million for services beginning in January.
NJ COST’s “Please Help Save My Ride” campaign kicked off earlier this year when it became apparent that New Jersey’s fiscal woes would also impact community transportation, such as the county’s Senior Citizen Area Transportation (SCAT) bus program.
McMorrow and others want New Jersey lawmakers to pass a pair of bills that would change the funding formula for the Casino Revenue’s “Senior Citizens and Disabled Residents Transportation Assistance Program” from a 7.5 percent share to an 8.5 percent share.
“The addition 1 percent equals the $4 million needed to fill the funding gap,” McMorrow said. “This money is critically important to our senior citizens.”
McMorrow is liaison to the county’s Department of Human Services, which houses the county’s community transportation system. She is planning to deliver her paper plate petitions to the Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee in Trenton.
Many of the signatures were collected at the county’s annual picnic for senior citizens held Sept. 17 at East Freehold Park, Freehold Township. More than 600 senior citizens attended, and most of those who attended were transported on a county SCAT bus.
Boxed lunches are provided by Interfaith Neighbors, an agency that obtains the grants for the Meals on Wheels program. There also was a disc jockey.
“For many seniors, especially those in assisted living and adult day care or who are homebound, the senior picnic is one of the few times they can get out and socialize,” said John Wanat, director of the county’s Office on Aging. “Not only for socialization, but also I was amazed at the number of people who were unable to get up and dance. It was a wonderful event.”
The county’s SCAT buses include, but are not limited to, service for non-emergency medical appointments, kidney dialysis, physical and mental therapies, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, non-competitive workshops, employment, nutrition sites, Meals on Wheels, food shopping, veterans services, recreational activities and much more.
“We are in a community transportation funding crisis,” McMorrow said. “This crisis negatively impacts New Jersey's older adult population, persons with disabilities, economically disadvantaged, veterans and other transportation dependent persons. Help is sorely needed.”
Persons wishing to sign a petition can telephone the NJ EASE line at 1-877-222-3737 to speak with someone at the county’s Office on Aging.
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