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GREENSBORO —  Besides Social Security benefits totaling just under $700 a month, 101-year-old Geneva Williamson is able to live on her own because of free meals from a delivery program for seniors.

“I have stretched that to make ends meet,” Williamson said, looking into the eye of a video camera for One Away, a national project showing the vulnerability of the adults who benefit from the Older Americans Act.

Advocates for the elderly will hold a panel discussion on the upcoming re­authorization of the federal legislation and what it entails Monday at High Point University, with special guest U.S. Rep. Howard Coble and other elected officials. There also will be a screening of the documentary “One Away Campaign for Elder Economic Security.”

The funding provides $1.6 billion annually for nutrition, job training and senior centers. These are the programs that often provide in-home aides, adult day care and specialized transportation.

Agencies receiving the funds want Congress to protect and strengthen the legislation.

They also want to remind the public of just how the grants affect the lives of their loved ones and their neighbors, like Williamson, a Rockingham County resident who turns 102 Monday.

“The thing that has been very impactful to me is meeting so many seniors that are living on $700 or less a month,” said Renee Griffin, assistant director of Senior Resources of Guilford.

“The programs that are funded by the Older Americans Act really provide a safety net for these people.”

Coble was asked to attend during a meeting in Washington with Ellen Whitlock of Senior Services of Guilford, one of the local advocacy groups sponsoring the awareness event about the Older Americans Act.

“He’s certainly supported it in the past and would like to support it in the future,” Ed McDonald, Coble’s chief of staff, said about the funding. “Unfortunately, everything has to be looked at under the prism of how much money is available to spend on each particular program.”

The groups are asking families that benefit from the funding to attend for information and to be heard.

“There are many, many Geneva Williamsons,” said Lee Covington, executive director of Aging, Disability and Transit Services of Rockingham County. Covington’s agency supports hundreds of seniors and has waiting lists for every service, including subsidized transportation and in-home aides.

“At the end of June,  we had 30 people on the waiting list (for Meals on Wheels), and at the end of October, it’s 100 — and that’s really alarming,” Covington said. “We have not seen that dramatic of an increase — ever.”

Senior Services of Guilford is one of 14 agencies across the country working with the National Council on Aging on the awareness project.

“So many people are just one event away from an economic crisis,” said Griffin, the assistant director of Senior Resources of Guilford. “For some people, it might be the nutritional support they get from the home-delivery program. It might be family caregiver support. It might be having someplace they can call to get their questions answered.”

Contact Nancy McLaughlin at 373-7049 or nancy.mclaughlin@news-record.com