This letter was sent originally to Sam Cooper, mayor of Rehoboth Beach.
I am writing to you because, as a board member of the Cape Henlopen Senior Center and as an elected official, I have concerns that you should be aware of.
On the CHSC website it states, "The purpose of the CHSC was and is to provide a multipurpose senior center for older adults, where they might meet and enhance their daily life." On Wednesday, July 9, 2014, my father, Mike Cuskey, who is 95 and a member of the center since March 2014, was discriminated against by Executive Director Leslie Boehlert.
Ms. Boehlert approached me when I picked up my father and stated, "We are not a drop-off center." I said I understand that. Boehlert expressed concern that I ask members to watch my father, although she admitted no members told her that. My father does not need to be watched! I drop him off (he does not drive) at the center so he can watch and interact with the gentlemen on the second floor who play pool.
Not once have I asked a member to watch my father. My father is at the senior center for 30 to 60 minutes. My father is 95 and worked full time till he was 91. At Easter my father told me he was lonely but he was getting used to it; that broke my heart. I ask my dad if he would like to go to a senior center for some socialization. He agreed.
Mayor Cooper, my dad walks with a walker; he can be left alone when I go to work. He goes to Mass every Sunday, and he is alert, oriented, not confused and he can go to the bathroom on his own. He is 95 and slow! It is a shame that this should happen at a senior center whose purpose should be to support and enhance seniors of all ages.
Instead, the CHSC actions show that 95-year-olds are considered a burden to our society! Shame on the CHSC and its Executive Director Leslie Boehlert! I look forward to hearing from you to inform me that my dad will be welcomed at the CHSC and the discrimination stop.
*As of this writing the mayor has not answered my letter. I am now pursuing with a discrimination attorney a suit against the center and Ms. Boehlert.
Mary McBride
Rehoboth
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
