(Radio Iowa) – A Waterloo program that helps older adults live on their own is resuming service after its federal funding was restored. The Senior Companion Program pairs volunteers who are 55 or older with elderly adults to help them with housekeeping, meal prep, and transportation. The program lost its federal funding in June and if it didn’t receive new funding before September 30th, it would have shut down completely. Vicky Buss (BUS) has volunteered with Senior Companion for almost 14 years.

When the program paused its services, Buss kept meeting with her clients weekly. When she told her clients she could return to work full-time after the funding was restored, they were thrilled. The program runs out of Hawkeye Community College, where Sonya Carlson is the program’s director.

The national service agency AmeriCorps awarded the college over 400-thousand dollars for three years to run the program. All volunteers are expected to be able to return to work. This year is the program’s 50th anniversary.