Editor's Note: This is the second of two parts on the economic challengers faced by elders in California, where budget cuts and the recession have shredded the social safety net. See Part 1.

Linnie Frank Bailey
New America Media

Elder advocate Jackie Melendez sees a new kind of elder abuse these days. It doesn’t involve those who usually prey on elders - the abusive caregiver or financial scam artist. This time it is the seniors who are the abusers. Their target? Themselves.

“Self-abuse among elders is a growing problem in the Inland area,” says Jackie, founder of Inland Seniors Caring Connection, a Southern California nonprofit that raises money for Meals-on-Wheels and other elder support programs.

“They give up,” she says. “They stop taking their prescriptions, they stop shopping for food, they stop cleaning their houses and they let their appearance go. Many times it is the physician who first notices something is wrong.”

Melendez attributes most of the elder self-abuse she sees to angst over the deteriorating economy in her area and fear about what the future holds.

This fear of the future is exasperated by recent budget cuts in California affecting senior services and programs. Many are living a retirement with much less money than they planned, and they don’t know where to turn for help. Melendez says her organization is one of many that tries to help seniors find resources. But this is becoming increasingly more difficult as programs are cut.

On July 24, 2009, after a protracted battle, California state legislators approved a budget to address the state’s $26 billion in debt. The approved budget cut billions of dollars from local governments, education and social services, including programs that affect low-income seniors, such as SSI, Medi-Cal, In Home Support Services, and Adult Day Health Centers.

Initially, in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s May 2009 budget proposal, he recommended eliminating many programs. However, although drastic cuts were made, no programs were eliminated by legislators. Subsequently, the governor used his veto authority and made an additional $489 million in cuts.

Included in the governor’s line-item vetoes was the elimination of all state funding for the Community Based Service Programs in 2009-2010. As a result, the following programs will not be funded:

• Alzheimer’s Day Care Resource Centers (provided specialized day programs for individuals with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias).

• The Brown Bag Program (provided surplus and donated edible fruits, vegetables and other food products to low-income individuals 60 years of age and older).

• Respite Purchase of Services (purchased respite services for caregivers who have the responsibility for the primary care of a frail elderly or functionally impaired adult).

• Senior Companion programs (supported volunteers who met critical community needs and helped adults who needed extra assistance to live independently in their own homes or communities. They served frail older adults, seniors with disabilities, those with terminal illnesses).

After signing the revised $84.6 billion budget plan for the fiscal year 2009-2010, the governor stated, “These are ugly cuts" and “nothing to celebrate,” but, “we cannot afford the programs we used to be able to afford even two years ago.”

'It starts with Downsizing'
You see them at the supermarket, lingering over the selections in the bread aisle, or going through the marked-down items at the back of the store. At the register, they carefully count out change to pay for three to five items. If you follow them home, you might find empty refrigerators and cupboards.

“It starts with downsizing,” says Jackie. “We are seeing seniors and their caregiver families look for less expensive housing options. Seniors in assisted living retirement communities are having to find less expensive housing options because they have lost savings. Some move from a two-bedroom to a one-bedroom, others are moving in with relatives, and others are placed in nursing homes by family members.”

Seniors are being affected by the same economic perils facing all Americans. They have lost funds in the stock market and equity in their homes. “The difference is elders don’t have the 10, 15, or 20 years it will take to rebuild their finances,” says Melendez. “This is causing great depression among those who thought they did everything right. They’re now looking closely at every expense and are cutting out all but the essentials. Depression is high among this age group.”

Some are suffering from too much credit card debt. A recent study shows credit card balances for low-and-middle income senior citizens soared by 26 percent over the past four years. The report, by the policy group Demos, suggests that senior citizens, accustomed to cashing out home equity to pay bills, are finding themselves in the same predicament as younger borrowers, with falling real estate values, shrinking portfolios, and rising energy costs.

With family members also strapped for cash, seniors are turning to credit to pay their own bills as well as help out relatives. Adding to the problem, elders tend to have higher health care costs than younger borrowers. The study’s authors suggest that widening gaps between health care costs and insurance coverage are forcing some seniors to pay for medical expenses with credit cards.

Maria Diaz knows many families who have used credit to pay the bills. She says folks are barely holding on in her Riverside-area neighborhood, which consists of working class Latino, African-American, and white families. She sees families doubling up in small houses to make ends meet. Diaz shares a house with her 88-year-old mother and a grown son and says budget cuts are going to take a toll on her family.

“Through In Home Support Services, I pay a local woman to watch my mother, but she makes almost as much as I do so much of my salary goes to her. Because of the new budget, her hourly rates are being cut and my mom’s SSI payments are shrinking. We all are struggling, but I know we have it better than some in this neighborhood.”

Copyright 2009 New America Media. Reprinted with permission.