Some Senior Citizens in Cairo are upset after learning they may have to move out of their senior center.
CAIRO, Ill. (WSIL)--- Some Senior Citizens in Cairo are upset after learning they may have to move out of their senior center.Â
Officials say the building's roof has deteriorated.
Some Senior citizens at Happy Days Senior Center in Cairo were not happy when they learned they may not be able to stay at their current location.
They say they do not want to leave the building.
“So you're saying leave your home, go somewhere else and we'll give you a meal. We say we like to eat my meal right here at home,â€� Harry Williams says.Â
This is after they were alerted that the building may not be safe for them to be in.
Kenneth Jones says he is concerned about having to move again.
“Got so much stuff that we brought in here, and we were in another building prior to this,� Kenneth Jones says. “Moving we had to do it ourselves and it was really challenging.�
Southern Pride Executive Director Dea Ann Bolen says they may have to move because the roof has deteriorated.
“The lowest bid was $80,000 dollars, and Southern Pride can not financially afford that right now,� Dea Ann Bolen said.
She says they may have to send them Olive Branch Services for Alexander County.
“I am not taking any services away from Alexander County,� Bolen said. “I want them to keep this building. It's just that I don't know how we're gonna get the roof fixed.�
Some of the seniors say that's far for a three dollar meal.
“They say they can provide us a bus. It'll be 45 minutes before you eat and then another 30 to 45 minutes before you get back home,� Jones said.
Harry Williams says he has been a maintenance mechanic for 40 years, and he volunteered to inspect the center’s roof.
"And what we are trying to get them to see that they have here in this structure is really solid and a good thing, and it cost them nothing to have it in the first place," Williams said.
The seniors say from their estimation the building's roof needs repairs but not a completely new roof.
Southern Pride said they have to let the insurance company know what they're going to do with the building by March 23rd.
