The need is very real. The expense of filling that need: painfully real.

And in the final reality check faced by O'ahu's four senior centers, which serve a growing population of elders, it's now plain to all that there is no more money in the public coffers to keep them at existing funding levels.

The facilities — Lanakila, Kapahulu, Mo'ili'ili and Waikiki — had held out hope that grants-in-aid supplementing other public funding sources could have been carved out of the state's "rainy-day fund" in the just-completed legislative session. At the eleventh hour of a grueling conference committee session, however, that hope faded.

Already operating on a slim budget, these centers need to ramp up alternative funding sources so they can get through the next fiscal year. If their leaders hope to stay afloat financially beyond this immediate period of treading water, they will have to change the way they approach fundraising.

The first order of business should be for the centers to deliver a clearer message about their importance to the health of the community.

Many people too easily dismiss senior services as a frill that serves only a narrow purpose; they need to be educated otherwise.

Anyone who has looked after an aging loved one knows that the physical and social engagement these centers provide enable seniors to maintain their independence longer.

And it's better for them and their families, and less of a strain on community resources, if they can avoid institutional care for as long as possible.

Further, centers need to move a little closer to financial self-reliance. Like public schools, they should be underwritten by taxpayer dollars, but so far the centers have not done enough to reach beyond that support. There are already fundraisers, of course, but they should find more ways for private corporations and other sponsors to partner with them.

For instance, public schools have had some success by banding together in a partnership "matchmaking" program, http://www.HelpHawaiiSchools.com — which pairs donors, who either have cash or in-kind gifts to offer, with the schools they can assist. Something similar could work for senior centers, too.

Karen Miyake, who heads the city's Elderly Affairs Division, suggests more "adoption" programs. In this approach, gifts help to cover costs for meals, transportation or other specific services, so residents can see the connection between their dollars and helping the seniors.

Ultimately, it will be the community as a whole that suffers if senior centers go under. Because it's clear that Hawai'i will need much more of the services these centers deliver in the years to come.