ROCK SPRINGS — Looking down the barrel of funding issues, the Young at Heart Senior Center will host a town hall meeting with residents to discuss what it could face in the future.

Executive Director Jamie Loredo said the meeting takes place at Young at Heart Friday at 5 p.m. She said the potential cuts from the federal and local levels would have the center reconsider its services to residents. So far, the center is operating as it has, though that may change depending on decisions made at both the federal and local levels.

“I don’t want this to be a surprise to people,” Loredo said.

Federally, Loredo’s concern lies with the future of funding from the Administration for Community Living, under the Department of Health and Human Services. She said the ACL disperses Title 3 funding to senior centers such as Young at Heart. Loredo said the ACL was shut down by President Donald Trump’s Administration as it was finalizing its funding awards. She said there is hope the Trump Administration will bring the ACL back as it restructures the Department of Health and Human Services, though if that doesn’t happen, that funding may not be available.

“That makes us very nervous obviously,” Loredo said.

She said she’s aware funding cuts are coming at the local level, though the exact amount remains unknown. She said Sweetwater County Commissioner Keaton West, who serves as the commissioners’ liaison to the senior center, told her to prepare budget scenarios highlighting what 10%, 15%, and 20% funding cuts would mean for the center. At 10%, Loredo said regardless of the cut, the center would have to cut down on services.

One service she mentioned was the meal delivery program the center operates, which delivers meals to home-bound residents in not just Rock Springs, but Superior, Reliance, Green River, and Jamestown as well. She said the service delivers 130 meals daily, as well as delivers special diet meals from Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County. That 10% cut would cause the center to refocus that program to the Rock Springs area and those most needing it.

Food service at the center would also be impacted with a 15% cut, likely resulting in seniors needing to make reservations for lunch to give the center a better means of controlling its food budget. Loredo said the center spends between $20,000 and $25,000 a month on raw food, serving meals for 70-150 seniors each day. Loredo said the center also provides food for the early learning center at Young at Heart, providing children with breakfast, lunch and two snacks. The cut would also result in the center looking at other service reductions for potential savings.

I don’t want this to be a surprise to people.

Jamie Loredo, Executive Director of Young at Heart Senior Center

At 20%, Loredo said the budget may involve staff reorganization, though she doesn’t want to scare anyone into thinking layoffs would occur.

While some funding streams may decline, Loredo said she and the center’s board have been active in seeking grants from nonprofit groups, such as the Daniels Fund and the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation. With food, Loredo said she working to include the center in a Wyoming food program that would provide raw food from Wyoming sources and lower costs. She said they are trying to find other means of making up potential funding shortfalls, saying while they’re nervous about the future, the center is working to prepare itself.