My grandmother had always been very independent but at the age of 89 she faced nursing home institutionalization. The local Community Action Agency, Wabash Area Development, Inc., in Southeastern Illinois, came to her home and after assessing her situation, presented her with options to help her.

Using the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), they were able to purchase a wheeled walker for her use that gave her the ability to move about within her home. They signed her up for home delivered meals to provide a nutritious hot lunch, her only hot meal of the day. I understand that those meals were made possible from the Older Americans Act funding.

The Community Care Program was able to provide a home care worker to do light housekeeping, laundry and help her with personal care. The Community Action Agency also said she was eligible for the energy assistance program called the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and they came to her home every fall to sign her up for it since she was unable to get the office to apply. They weatherized her home through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) which lowered her utility bills and gave her more money each month to buy food and medicine.

All of these services enabled my grandmother to stay at home for the rest of her life until she died at the age of 92, three years later. If she didn’t have those community services, she would have had to move to a nursing home which would have been a much greater cost to the government—and therefore, the taxpayers—and also would have caused her much emotional distress.

Data sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2007 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2009 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2007 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2009 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2007 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: R2515
• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2009 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: R2515