As Older Americans Month approaches, the Saipan Seniors Advisory Council wants the Office on Aging exempted from the current austerity measures being implemented throughout the government.<\/p>\n
Council president Teresita Sorroza and vice president Maria T. Salinas wrote to Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos saying that exempting the center from austerity Fridays will give the man\u2019amko and the Office on Aging staff more time for the preparation and actual activities for the monthlong celebration in May.<\/p>\n
The theme for this year\u2019s Older Americans Month or Mes Man\u2019amko celebration is \u201cNever too old to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed, we are never too old to play, and therefore ask that you do not prohibit us from doing so,\u201d wrote Sorroza and Salinas, who signed and hand-delivered the letter to Inos\u2019 office on Capital Hill yesterday.<\/p>\n
According to the two, many clients at the Aging Center rely on the services the institution provides, including healthy meals and assistance in the man\u2019amko\u2019s errands. <\/p>\n
The center, Sorroza and Salinas said, serves as a meeting area for the man\u2019amko to meet with close friends and acquaintances. It also provides them with programs \u201cthat keep us feeling young and energetic.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two pointed out that the Office on Aging\u2019 is federally funded, with the office\u2019s approved state plan requiring them to open five days a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a result, we do not see the need to shut the center down every Friday when these expenses have already been accounted for,\u201d said Sorroza and Salinas. \u201cThe fact is we are losing money that can eventually assist our ailing economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two said that clients at the center are calling for the restoration of the 80-hour work week for Office on Aging employees \u201csince it is them who are responsible for implementing the programs we enjoy,\u201d adding that doing so will benefit not just the staff and the man\u2019amko but the CNMI as a whole.<\/p>\n
Sorroza and Salinas expressed confidence that Inos will have their best interest at heart and grant them their request.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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