Governor Terry McAuliffe is hoping two new laws will do more to protect seniors from going hungry and falling prey to financial exploitation.
Today, Governor Terry McAuliffe signed two bills into law at the Herndon Senior Center in Northern Virginia. One was a bill introduced by Senator Barbara Favola that seeks to find ways to combat hunger and malnutrition among seniors. That’s an issue that concerns Margaret Wilson, who lives in the senior housing facility here.
“Food is very high, you know? You have to look for bargains in different places. But we are still blessed.”
The other bill the governor signed was introduced by Senator Jeremy McPike, which seeks to crack down on financial exploitation of seniors. That’s an issue that concerns Eleanor Benedict.
“Telephone scams. That is so big. We have had a resident, a past resident, lose thousands and thousands of dollars. And we all hope, oh gee maybe we are going to win some money or we are going to make our lives easier. Oh the scams are awful on the phone.”
Perhaps the most pressing area of concern was an issue that the governor has no authority over, the potential that the federal budget might not include funding for Meals on Wheels.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
