The LaPorte County Council on Aging, which provided transportation and other key services to hundreds of local elderly and handicapped individuals, abruptly closed its doors Friday, Feb. 8, 2014, citing funding issues. The council on aging, an arm of Parents and Friends Inc. of LaPorte County, provided daily rides to medical facilities and other locations for people who had no other means of transportation. It employed roughly 25 people.
An employee said workers were called to a meeting Friday morning and told the facility would be closing permanently. On the PAF website (www.pafinc.net), this message was posted:
“It is with deep regret that Parents and Friends Inc., a not-for-profit organization that provides various services to disabled and elderly adults in LaPorte county, announces the closing of its Council on Aging program and the termination of all related services. For more than 13 years, Parents and Friends has operated the Council on Aging program that provides transportation and guardianship services for seniors and persons with disabilities in LaPorte County. In 2013, the Council on Aging provided more than 35,000 one-way medical related trips for more than 800 elderly and/or disabled residents of LaPorte County. Additionally, the Council on Aging provides court appointed guardianship services for persons who cannot manage their own financial affairs and who have no family members willing to assist.
“Unfortunately, the available funding for the Council on Aging programs has failed to match the costs and expenses of those programs, forcing this decision.
“Before making this decision, Parents and Friends exhausted all avenues of potential funding. However, despite the dedicated work of the Council on Aging staff that has brought about an overall decrease in per trip costs, the aggregate costs of the programs continue to far exceed funding.
“This decision will affect the jobs of approximately 25 staff members, all of whom will be placed on permanent layoff by Parents and Friends.”