BENTON, Arkansas — On Monday night, an emergency meeting was held to decide the future of several Central Arkansas senior centers.
People stood outside the Benton Senior Center before the meeting to show their support for the facilities, but inside the center, discussion of whether or not they could stay open happened.
Judy Rusch is just one of several people who uses a senior center, and she explained how it's so much more than a place to make friends.
"It's social. It's helpful with connecting you with insurance people that help you make decisions on Medicare. There are meals [and] there are field trips," said Rusch.
However, last week people heard that eight senior centers could see drastic changes, and possibly even closing soon:
- Arkadelphia
- Benton
- Bryant
- Glenwood
- Gurdon
- Malvern
- Mt. Ida
- Murfreesboro
The Central Arkansas Development Council, which manages the centers, said the ending of COVID funding and years of overspending led to the emergency meeting and whether or not to continue their partnership with the insurance providers.
"They are underfunded. To get down to the skinny of it they are underfunded. And CADC has been taking organizational funds to support these centers because we understand the need," said Randy Morris, CEO of Central Arkansas Development Council.
The board voted to extend the contract for four more months without any budget cuts. They will incur a $700,000 loss.
Then, Care Link and West Central, the insurance companies, will put out a bid for new management.
"With your help and the people in these centers, we will be holding some meetings here in Benton and Bryant, so that y'all can come and talk with us and you can get a better understanding of what's going on," said Luke Mattingly, Care Link's CEO.
Some in attendance were concerned that the centers might shut down because of a lack of funding.
While the CEO of Care Link said he couldn't make that promise, he said he's confident the senior centers in Benton and Bryant will remain open despite the change of management.