Stimulus funds St. Petersburg senior center

Tampa Bay Business Journal

Peter Nehr and E. Douglas Beach, center, visit with PARC clients Ward and Dennis
during their lunch at the new senior center.

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2009/07/13/daily36.html

E. Douglas Beach, secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, previewed the new PARC Senior Center Wednesday, a congregate dining site for seniors with development disabilities.

The center, located at 3190 Tyrone Blvd. N. in St. Petersburg, is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is a joint effort between PARC, Neighborly Care Network and the Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas Inc.

The facility is the first of its kind in Florida and is expected to serve as a model for similar ventures throughout the state, PARC and Neighborly Care said in separate releases. It has a grand opening scheduled for Aug. 4.

The collaboration occurred as PARC, which serves individuals with disabilities, identified a growing need to offer specialized services to seniors and as Neighborly Care, which provides home- and community-based services to the elderly in Pinellas County, received $300,000 from the stimulus package. The stimulus funds were awarded through the Area Agency on Aging.

The center will serve more than 40 individuals, providing a hot meals five days a week as well as socialization and other activities, PARC said in its release. For instance, PARC also is partnering with Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay Inc., sponsor of the foster grandparent and senior companion volunteer programs, to have volunteers serve as additional support for participants in the PARC Senior Center.

Beach and Jim DeBeaugrine, director of the Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities, kept in close contact during the planning phases, PARC said. In the release, DeBeaugrine called the project an “innovative collaboration which assures efficiencies with public funding and increased key services to our state’s most vulnerable citizens.”

“We are looking forward to more agencies taking the initiative like PARC and Neighborly Care Network to combine services that will enable seniors to get the highest quality of health and social services,” Beach said in the release.