Higbee Senior Center shuts doors Friday
The Higbee Senior Center is being forced to close its doors Friday. This comes after years of running in the red. The center delivers food to many seniors, and now, those seniors don’t know where they’ll get their meals. Senior center administrators said there is no plan to replace the food delivery services the center provides.
The Higbee Senior Center ask seniors to contribute $3.50 for the 85 meals they deliver to home-bound seniors during the week. Administrators said along with a couple of agencies helping, it’s hardly enough revenue to keep the center afloat.
Administrators said a Missouri Health Foundation grant has been helping the center pay the bills but the grant is no longer available. Workers said the center closing is a dire situation because many of the home-bound seniors have no family, which means no one to check on them.
“I saw a lot of things. I found two people on the floor. Two different times with broken hips that had fell and if I hadn’t been delivering meals-who would have found them throughout the day?” said Ethal Torri, who delivered meals for the senior center.
Rep. John Wright was at the the senior center. He had already scheduled a town hall meeting. He said he’ll do what he can for the seniors. Administrators said they’re praying for a miracle.
