WASHINGTON COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Seniors and the Washington County Commission on Aging have struggled to provide services to the area’s seniors, but the Maryland Department of Aging has a plan to help.

The Commission on Aging has been a go-to source for elderly people in Washington County. They rely on a number of recourses including Meals on Wheels.

As the aging community grows, so does the need for additional services.

“Right now, we have over 700 seniors on our waitlist for services and so one of the big concepts that we’ll be talking about today is how to create a sustainable model going forward,” Development Officer, Tim Fisher said.

During a meeting Friday, state leaders acknowledged this growth and agreed the agency needs more money to meet the community’s needs.

“We need to strengthen them and make sure that that infrastructure is in place so that we can continue to serve older people the way that we want to, and we know that they deserve,” Secretary for the Maryland Department of Aging, Carmel Roques explained.

Seniors who attended made sure leaders heard their priorities.

“It’s imperative that we take a look at the variety of programs for each of those vacancies in order to provide the services that all our seniors really need and deserve to have,” Paulie Ward said.

The Commission on Aging currently serves over ten thousand seniors and hopes to receive more help in the future.