AMHERST — Companionship, transportation to medical appointments, and assistance with nutrition and health care are among needs some senior citizens in Amherst have.

Since becoming a full-time social worker at the Amherst Senior Center in 2004, Maura Plante has aimed to address these issues, recognizing the safety net is being diminished as funding gets cut, even as the population of elders grows.

Seniors who once got 20 to 30 hours of home services per week may now get just three to four hours, she said, and they can’t afford to supplement this with their own income or get help from their family members.

“It’s nowhere near what it was like when I first started working with seniors,” Plante said. “That makes it very, very difficult for a number of seniors.”

Plante, 63, retires this month as program director for services in Amherst, having helped to launch the Friendly Visitor Program that brings volunteers, including college students, to meet with homebound seniors, expand the weekly bread and produce distribution, oversee the tax workoff program that provides reduced taxes for 35 seniors and the wellness ride program, and coordinate with the Meals on Wheels program through the University of Massachusetts and the senior mobile pantry through the Amherst Survival Center.

She has built up the base of community volunteers to ensure that the 3,968 senior citizens served in 2016 are having their needs met.

As a social worker, much of the direct assistance includes one-on-one help to fill out applications for public benefits, sign up for MassHealth and find housing.

But much of this can be more challenging, such as determining if a person is eligible for a personal care attendant paid for by MassHealth, or finding someone who can provide home health care at a nominal cost.

“The issues they are dealing with are much more complex and require more time in dealing with them,” Plante said.

Plante’s presence will be missed, said Senior Center Director Nancy Pagano.

“It’s bittersweet to see her leave us,” Pagano said. “It’s like losing a family member that you’ve come to really know for so long.”

Helen MacMellon, a licensed social worker on staff since 2012, will assume most of Plante’s duties, while a new social worker will be hired who will begin prior to Plante’s departure.

Before starting her work in Amherst, Plante brought experience as a protective services worker and case manager for Highland Valley Elder Services. Plante began working with Amherst seniors in 1990 as the coordinator of congregate housing for both the Jean Elder House in Amherst and Joan Tobin Manor in Northampton, a part-time job she shared with Mary McColgan.

In addition to the programs Plante oversees, Pagano said she brings warmth, patience and a constantly professional demeanor. She could also be firm when needed, setting limits and rules of decorum.

“Maura has a reservoir of energy and compassion to be a good listener,” Pagano said.

Plante, who lives in Northampton, said her only plans upon retirement June 29 are planning a two-week bike trip to Nova Scotia with her husband and friends, and getting to see a lot of her first grandchild.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.