A McDonald woman was told she must wait two years for homemakers and chore assistance under Title III services.

78-year-old Patricia Liberatore claims she was told by Comfort Keepers, a Youngstown-based senior care company, that she had been waitlisted.

"I thought that was terrible because this program is here to keep seniors in their home, yet there's a two-year wait," she said.

Liberatore says she reached out to the Direction Home of Eastern Ohio last month, which assessed her living situation to determine her needs.

The Direction Home of Eastern Ohio handles senior living services under federal, state, and local funds by sending them to agencies that handle senior care services directly. The non-profit organization operates in Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning, and Columbiana counties.

The federal funds come from the Older Americans Act, a federal law that provides living services to senior citizens aged 60 and over. Title III of the law provides federal funding to local organizations to provide supportive services, nutrition services, family caregiver supports, and preventive services.

Cassandra Valentini, Chief of Community Development of Direction Homes, says federal funds have become increasingly lower every year and the agencies that provide senior assistance are stretched thin.

"They do their very best to stretch the dollars that they receive as far as possible because we want to help as many people as we possibly can," she said.

Valentini claims more federal funds came during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the number has decreased every year since.