Jeanette Rivera of Coral Springs was already struggling with breast cancer when her mother had a stroke, leaving her unable to care for Jeanette’s father, who has Parkinson’s disease. Rivera tried to get home-care services that would enable the older couple to remain in their condo, but found a long waiting list.
So, as the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports, Rivera took them into her own home. A caseworker suggested that she sign them up for Meals on Wheels so they could be fed while Rivera undergoes cancer treatment, but there again she ran into a waiting list.
She’s one of many Americans who are beginning to feel the pinch of the “sequester,” the automatic cuts that kicked in months ago after Congressional inaction. The Sun-Sentinel reports that Florida lost $5.6 million in Older American's Act funding, including $3.5 million from home-delivered meals or hot lunch sites.
