SLIPPERY ROCK — For calls to emergency assistance hot line 211 in Butler County, the Slippery Rock area is in third place.

Kevin Boozel, PA 211 Southwest project manager for the United Way of Allegheny County, said most calls to 211 in the county are for assistance with housing, utilities and food. He said Butler had the highest volume of calls, followed by Cranberry Township.

Boozel was one of the attendees at a community needs assessment meeting sponsored by the Slippery Rock Rotary Club and held at the Slippery Rock Fire Hall. More than 40 people attended and filled out surveys to help determine local needs.

Tom Bechard, a social work professor at Slippery Rock University, initially asked if any kind of needs assessment for people needing food, clothing and shelter in Slippery Rock borough and township had been done.

Boozel said 211 also gets calls from the Red Cross, noting the Red Cross can offer only three days of housing for people who have lost their homes in fires or disasters.

As far as homelessness in the county, he said the average age for a homeless person is 9 years old.

Bechard said that while these services are available in the county, people in the Slippery Rock area don’t feel a connection to the county and, consequently, don’t always look to the county in times of need.

Boozel said that issue is unique to rural areas. In the city, he said more people know about the services available.

He said his children, who attend Slippery Rock schools, have said they know students whose families do not have enough money to pay for things like clothing. He said this might account for the high volume of calls from the area.

A member of the audience asked about the possibility of closing or modifying senior centers, which has been a topic of discussion at recent county meetings.

Beth Herold, administrator for the county Area Agency on Aging, said staff members have been going out and surveying seniors to find what they want in senior centers and asking seniors who do not go to centers what they want.

She said the Slippery Rock center is not going to close, but is likely to have the number of days it is operated per week decreased from five to three.

She said most seniors only go to centers between one and three times per week, and the AAA is working to figure out which three days it would be open.

Another audience member asked about fundraising for senior centers. Herold said there is a suggested donation of $2.50 per meal served. She said some people pay nothing and others pay more than the suggested donation.

“Right now, there is no need to increase that,” Herold said.

She said decreasing hours would lower the operating costs, lessening the need for fundraising. She said seniors who attend the centers are not forced to work to raise funds.

Several other people from around the county and the Slippery Rock area spoke about the services their groups offer.

Karen Pierce, librarian for the Slippery Rock Community Library, said, “Shutting down a library during times of economic distress is like closing down a hospital during the plague.”

She said the library’s computers have been getting heavy use by people who are filing for unemployment, applying for heating assistance or applying for jobs.

Carol Lambert, coordinator of the Feed My Sheep Food Cupboard, said the cupboard has 265 families as clients, and it averages about 185 families per month.

“They come to us when they need us,” Lambert said.

She said a third of the clients are seniors who make less than $721 per month and another third are the working poor.