Hot Springs County Senior Center faces $50,000 in budget cuts

The Hot Springs County Senior Citizens Center faces $50,000 in state budget cuts.

Executive Director at the Hot Springs County Senior Citizens Center Chanda Waddell said the center was fortunate to receive no county or federal budget cuts.

“We were very fortunate that the county saw the importance in our programs and in our demographic,” she said. “They did not cut us and we were one of the only entities that did not get cut, and we’re incredibly grateful.”

Waddell said two state-specific Wyoming grants had to cut funds — the Wyoming Senior Services Board and Wyoming Home Services.

The Wyoming Senior Services Board covers operational expenses for the Senior Center. The cut from WSSB was $20,000.

“The money the state has put together for operational expenses are hard to come by for a nonprofit,” she said.

Wyoming Home Services is a division of the Department of Health that is Wyoming focused and fully state-funded. They cover costs associated with in-home services for seniors such as light-duty housekeeping. The WHS cut funding for the Senior Center in the amount of $30,000.

“Sometimes the difference between staying at home and being institutionalized are things like laundry,” Waddell said. “If you had someone to do that, you could live on your own. It’s such a fine line. If you can clean your own bathroom, for example, you