A San Jose grant program aimed at reducing social isolation among the city’s older adult population is on the chopping block amid a multimillion-dollar budget deficit.
The city’s Older Adult Health and Wellness Grant Program funds nonprofits focused on educating San Jose’s older adult community on health, social and nutrition programs — but $526,434 in proposed cuts threaten to shut down the entire program. City Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services manages the program, and representatives said they need to meet a $2.8 million budget reduction to cover for the city’s financial shortcomings. Nonprofits will be frozen out of the grant program’s funding if the City Council approves the proposed 2025-26 operating budget on June 10.
“The city of San Jose is projecting a $36 million budget shortfall in the next fiscal year,” parks department spokesperson Dylan Kuhlmann-Haley told San José Spotlight. “After careful review of our programs, the department is proposing a reduced budget that minimizes impacts to staffing and preserves the department’s core services wherever possible.”…