SCRANTON — State Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich joined local officials Friday to cut the ribbon on and celebrate Telespond Senior Services’ new Older Adult Advocacy Center in the city, a facility serving older adult victims of abuse, neglect, exploitation and other maltreatment by providing temporary housing and connections to a range of legal, personal care, transportation and other resources. The center, described as the first of its kind in Pennsylvania, will serve as a model to “enhance and strengthen the response to elder abuse, neglect, financial exploitation and abandonment,” according to a state Department of Aging press release. Crews broke ground on the advocacy center space at 1200 Saginaw St. in 2023, with officials praising the project that December as creating an invaluable resource for a vulnerable population. The construction project wrapped up last year.
— JEFF HORVATH
Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich speaks during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Older Adult Advocacy Center at Telespond Senior Services in Scranton on Friday, May 16, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging director Sara McDonald speaks to the crowd gathered for the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Older Adult Advocacy Center at Telespond Senior Services in Scranton on Friday, May 16, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Older Adult Advocacy Director Clifton Miller speaks about the new service during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Older Adult Advocacy Center at Telespond Senior Services in Scranton on Friday, May 16, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)