Oregon Public Broadcasting

After 35 years, a program designed to help Oregon seniors stay in their homes is on the brink of elimination. Oregon Project Independence offers help with basic household tasks.

Supporters say it's a small investment that keeps people out of assisted living facilities, which are far more expensive. It's also a favorite target of budget cutters since it receives no federal matching dollars.

Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman found concerns about financing Oregon Project Independence go back to day one.

Marjorie Nyman lives in a one-bedroom apartment near downtown Salem. 

Chris Lehman / Northwest News Network

Marjorie Nyman makes her way down the sidewalk near her apartment in Salem.

Marjorie Nyman: "They take care of the cleaning, they take care of my washing. They are there when I'm doing my bathing." 

And all that gets done with one three-hour visit a week from a home-care worker. Nyman says just that little bit of help makes a big difference.

Marjorie Nyman: "If she wasn't there it would be very, very difficult to get along." 

Nyman says she'd probably have to move into an assisted living arrangement if she didn't get help through Oregon Project Independence.

About 2,000 seniors are on the program. That's down from 3,600 just a few years ago because of previous budget cuts.

Now the home care service is slated to go away entirely on August First. Supporters of OPI say it's a bargain compared to paying for nursing home care. 

But Patty Wentz of the Oregon Department of Human Services says you still have to come up with the money up front.

Patty Wentz: "The budget reality that the state is facing is that we do not have the state dollars. And you have to pay for it right now out of state dollars."

And that's a key point. Unlike many other assistance programs, Oregon Project Independence receives no federal matching funds. So when the governor ordered across-the-board cuts to the state's general fund, programs that receive federal money didn't exactly escape unscathed.

But, they were less vulnerable overall. Human Services had to trim $158 million from its budget. 

Oregon Project Independence makes up a narrow dollar slice of that unsavory pie -- $8 million. The argument that a small upfront investment saves money in the long run has been made since the day Oregon Project Independence was created.

Audio from 1975: "The clerk will read the next bill. House Bill 2163, by the Committee on Aging."

In 1975, Republican Representative William Gwinn took to the floor of the Oregon House to make the case to fellow lawmakers.

William Gwinn: "This program, Mr. Speaker and members can be one of the most meaningful programs that this assembly might ever adopt in terms of alternatives, if you will, to institutional care."

But even then funding for Oregon Project Independence was in doubt. This remark came from Democratic Representative Ed Stevenson.

Rep. Ed Stevenson: "When our subcommittee was considering that bill we were all sitting in there saying 'Oh, if we only had the money.'"

Those 1975 budget-writers came up with a million dollars to kick start the program. And after a brief debate, the House approved the bill 58-to-nothing.

One of those "yes" votes came from a freshman state representative named Ted Kulongoski. Now, 35 years later in his final months as governor of Oregon, Kulongoski triggered the latest round of budget cuts.

It could finally spell the end to Project Independence. 

Marjorie Nyman was 40 years old back in 1975. Today, she's on a fixed income and has no immediate family. So the prospect of losing state assistance is unsettling. 

Marjorie Nyman: "Well, it makes me feel very insecure in a way. Because you know if it's not here, then what happens? It's not a good thing, that's for sure."

A possible last-minute influx of federal dollars to other state programs could free up some cash to continue Oregon Project Independence.

But even with the extra money, budget-writers are still warning of a huge deficit next year.