Program to help elderly wins federal grant

The Iowa Department of Elder Affairs has landed a one-point-one million dollar federal grant to continue a program that re-trains senior citizens and puts them to work. Maryann Young, administrator of the elder rights division, says the Senior Community Services Program provides training for low-income people over 55 in part-time community service jobs. Young says the program is a win-win as it provides seniors who need jobs with employment while helping out communities with much-needed services. She says many of the people work in libraries or museums.Young says Iowa’s older citizens are a necessary part of the state’s employment picture, but they sometimes need to update their abilities.The program now offers 157 positions statewide in 80 of Iowa’s 99 counties. The grant for the program comes from the U-S Department of Labor.