During a time when finances are tough for so many, it is easy to forget about the community's senior citizens who are forced to make tough decisions due to limited incomes.

"A lot of residents are having a hard time trying to survive everyday life," said Marcia Zyla, a resident of the Grundy County Housing Authority's Mazon Park Place. "With the changes with prescription programs, they all started panicking and looking for other ways to get them filled, and some are literally doing without."

Many local seniors are having to choose between paying bills or getting their medications. The average income of the housing authority residents is $12,000 a year, and the average rent is $281 a month.