RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, senior citizens benefit from, and deserve access to, senior centers that provide community-based services to elders; and

WHEREAS, although families have the primary responsibility of caring for their elder members, the State, in partnership with the private sector, can play a role in assisting families in their efforts to care for their elders; and

WHEREAS, multi-purpose senior centers typically offer an array of community-based programs and services for elders, including health (including mental health), nutritional, educational, social, and recreational programs; volunteer opportunities; and a clearinghouse of available community programs and services; and

WHEREAS, multi-purpose senior centers alleviate the pressure to institutionalize elders who are ambulatory, but who need companionship and some assistance during the day while their families are at work; and

WHEREAS, elders need to remain active in order to age with dignity and to continue to live productive lives, and multi-purpose senior centers help keep elders healthy and happy and deter the effects of aging; and

WHEREAS, multi-purpose senior centers are thriving in response to great public demand for their services; and

WHEREAS, continued State funding for multi-purpose senior centers is critical to ensure their survival; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Office of the Governor is requested to coordinate efforts to ensure the availability of a statewide network of multi-purpose senior centers by:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of the Governor is requested to submit a report on its plans and actions taken to coordinate efforts to ensure the availability of a statewide network of multi-purpose senior centers, including information about the establishment of state-run multi-purpose senior centers and grants or subsidies awarded to, or contracts with, county agencies or private nonprofit organizations for multi-purpose senior center operations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report shall be submitted to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2004 Legislature; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Office of the Governor; the Executive Office on Aging; and the Area Agencies on Aging on Oahu, Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui, for distribution to the multi-purpose senior centers in each county.

Report Title:

Multi-Purpose Senior Centers; Statewide Network