An 81-year-old Cambridge resident delivered an emotional and sharply critical appeal to city leaders Monday, urging more support for seniors struggling with safety, housing, and the cost of basic activities.
Addressing the Cambridge city commissioners at the start of Monday’s meeting, Sandra Snowden said older residents are being overlooked despite growing needs, particularly those living on fixed incomes.
“I’m here as a Sandra Snowden, senior in Cambridge,” Snowden said. “I have some major concerns.”
Snowden, who said she has lived in the city for seven years, described conditions at Conifer Village, a senior housing complex where residents have faced repeated car thefts and break-ins.
“Over the last three years … we’ve had 30 car thefts and break-ins,” she said. “These are all seniors who can ill afford that.”
She also raised concerns about inadequate lighting and a lack of security at the complex, saying she has spent years trying to get improvements.
Snowden, who said she is legally blind and lives on a fixed annual income of under $20,000, detailed the financial strain seniors face just to participate in community programs. She said transportation and meals at the senior center cost her about $65 a month, while trips and activities often require additional fees.
“All I’m asking is for somebody to care,” Snowden said.
She criticized some elected officials for failing to respond to invitations to meet with seniors, noting that Mayor Lajan Cephas-Bey and Ward 1 Commissioner Brett E. Summers did respond, while others did not.
Snowden, who holds degrees in political science and public administration and has worked in government and nonprofit roles, said she understands how funding systems work but has struggled to secure support.
“I know how the system works,” she said. “But does anybody care?”
Her request to city leaders was direct: empathy and financial support, including roughly $10,000 to help fund senior activities such as bus trips.
City Manager Glenn Steckman acknowledged the concerns and said the city has already allocated funding for senior programming.
“The council last year approved $15,000 in the budget,” Steckman said, adding that the city expects to continue supporting activities through Delmarva Community Services. “We’ll make sure that there is money to enhance what the programming is.”
Commissioners also indicated continued support for specific requests, including transportation funding for trips that can serve dozens of seniors.
“It dawned on me that maybe there’s a broader issue across our community with seniors on fixed income,” Summers said. “These are residents of our city.”
He added that officials should examine what additional steps the city can take.
“We all have aging parents and grandparents, and there is empathy,” Cephas-Bey said.
Snowden welcomed the acknowledgment but emphasized urgency, noting that Cambridge has only one senior program serving the county.
Despite her frustrations, Snowden thanked city staff for past assistance and urged officials to remain engaged.
“My concern is with all of the seniors in Cambridge,” she said. “All of the seniors in Cambridge,” she said. “I’m here because I care,” she said.
I would like to offer an idea to make more local opportunities for senior and civic engagement. The artist community loves doing outreach programs via DCA and WMA, homeschool groups strive to find ways to engage with the community, the 4H club and Blackwater Rising would love to help with community gardens. I would encourage expanding 4H opportunities with partnership with 4H and the University of Maryland to work with the Master gardeners to put community gardens in senior spaces so there is fresh produce available, but also have a sign up sheet for those who want the produce so it can be delivered to them regularly. It seems simple to make gardens and provide food for the community, but it takes work. The benefits are so worthwhile though! If we just plants all the public parks with food bearing trees and plants, then every community would have a source of fresh food. How about we hire gardeners instead of landscapers. We can retrain all the workers to nourish, cultivate and harvest plants instead of just mow everything down. Imagine if every park had a free farm stall to pick up locally grown food? Imagine a youth corp paid to make and maintain them? Kids off the streets learning how to make food and making sure it gets to the people that need it. It would even cost less with no constant mowing, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizer being applied. Just helping nature be fruitful again.
As the focus of this article I continue to advocate for seniors in Cambridge especially those like me in the low income bracket. i currently reside in a senior tax credit community in the poorest economic section of Cambridge. There are two senior buildings that have a total of 142 units. This state approved tax credit development was titled Conifer Village an inter-generational community. Unfortunately no plans were implemented to make it such; ;Instead it is riddle with crime, no security and juveniles with no parenting. Over the last 2-3 years the seniors have suffered 30+ car vandalisms and or thefts. We have dirt bikes that ravish our safety and the property. Corporate management refuses to provide security for our parking lot that is pitch black at night. Car thefts and vandalism are occurring during the day because we have no protection. No one cares and our concerns get shifted from one agency to another. The State approved this tax credit contract some years ago without requoiring basic security for its seniors and to date there is still none. Picture this, your 75 year old grandmother mother, still active with all her faculties, looking forward to a minimal enjoyable stress free life, downsizes and moves into Conifer Village expecting peace and tranquility. Instead her car was stolen and/or vandalism less than a month after she moved in. This actually happened to some of our residents in the month of March and April 2026. They had to pay the insurance , deductible, increase due to age and high risk neighbor. What if this happens to a person more than once; it has! What if your car was paid for but now the insurance declared it a total lost?? Not just the cars but gun shots throughout the night? No one told me any of this when I moved here! Conifer Corporate Management does not care because I’ve been fighting for over three years to get us some security. They refuse! No increase in lights in the parking lot! No internal cameras! Delivered mail packages being stolen!Police say juveniles are responsible for car issues and we can’t arrests them? Everybody is covered except your grandma! What would you do?