GROVE CITY - When a needs assessment conducted by Grove City United Way turned up gaps in communication between senior citizens and their providers in the area, the agency set to work to put together a solution.

The result was the Senior Initiative.

The assessment showed there were adequate services in the area for senior citizens. The problem was that senior citizens did not always know how to access those services.

It is the goal of the Senior Initiative, composed of a group of concerned community members, to find ways of communicating to seniors what services are available and how they can be reached.

According to initiative co-coordinator Betsy Kemeny, the group, originally composed of representatives from local senior services providers, has been meeting for more than a year with the overall goal of "creating a successful community for a lifetime."

"We as health care providers and professionals realize the significance of our elderly population and want to make sure their needs are being met," said Cynthia Lamont, an initiative member who handles publicity for the group.

To that end, the initiative has been working toward three main objectives.

The first was the compilation and printing of the Grove City Senior Resources Directory. The directory, which features listings of all community services geared toward seniors, was printed in June and distributed to doctors offices, churches, banks, the Grove City Area Public Library and other places where seniors are likely to be.

The directory contains contact and general information about such services as the Area Agency on Aging, caregivers support groups, faith-based assistance, financial support and senior employment centers.

The group's second objective is to promote end-of-life awareness, which it accomplishes through a speakers bureau composed of initiative members who travel to various community meetings to speak on the topic.

"People have been generally interested and wanted to learn more," Kemeny said.

The initiative continues to work on the third objective: further defining how to make services more accessible to both frail and healthy elderly.

"The first two (objectives) were a lot more accomplishable, but that last one will take a little more probing," Kemeny said.

Lamont, who in addition to doing the group's publicity is also a member of the speakers bureau, said the work of the initiative is important because seniors are often overlooked.

"Any professional in this area realizes that, quite frankly, the senior population is put last," Lamont said. "Senior (programming) is the first thing to get cut" from tightening budgets.

That may make the initiative all that more important, Kemeny said, since the need for senior care is not diminishing.

"There are senior needs that are expanding and growing with the baby boom generation," she said. The general idea of the initiative is to see how people with those expanding needs can link with the services that best serve their needs.

The committee meets once a month. Those wanting to know more about the Senior Initiative can call Grove City United Way at 724-458-4527.