The Residents at the Foundation’s Fellowship Houses come from next door and around the world. They have labored in occupations with little or no retirement benefits. Their work activities have ranged the gamut of teacher, librarian, cashier, beautician, retail sales, life guard, unskilled laborer, and farmer. Some were formerly homeless. Others are refugees from forced labor camps. All have limited means. Some live on less than $350 a month. Without the Fellowship Houses, many would live in third world conditions. But there’s more to the Foundation’s residents than being economically challenged.

Most Fellowship House residents:
• Are active and self sufficient,
• Find many enjoyments in life,
• Enjoy their privacy,
• Are fiercely independent,
• Own and drive their own cars,
• Are involved in community activities,
• Volunteer at other non-profits, and
• Enjoy cultural, educational, and social activities in their communities.

Some are gainfully employed.
The typical resident is a single or widowed female who entered the Fellowship House in her late sixties or early seventies. Although some residents previously lived in a community surrounding the Fellowship House, most relocated to be near family members who live in the area. Most who relocated come from nearby states along the East Coast, but, overall, residents represent many of the states east of the Mississippi River. At least 4 out of 5 residents are female.
Like most of us, our residents share some very basic human concerns. They want the safety and security of living in a safe haven like our Fellowship Houses. They are interested in good nutrition, socialization, and mental stimulation. They maintain their spiritual lives and seek other means of self-expression. They also count good medical care as a priority.

Many, if not most, of our residents have a length of stay at our Fellowship Houses from 5 to 15 or more years. As they age in place and become more fragile and frail, their self-sufficiency declines. As a preference, most residents make arrangements for their own much needed support services. In those instances when residents are without family support for personal needs or have become especially frail, they depend heavily on a caring staff to help them make connections with community support agencies and services.

Operating Concept

Out of an abiding sense of Christian mission, the Foundation devotes itself to providing housing and related services to low and very low income persons through ownership and/or management of housing projects. Since its beginning in 1960, the Foundation’s founders wanted to be more than just a landlord, providing shelter and collecting rent. They correctly saw that housing alone was not enough. They saw a need for a caring staff, a comfortable, secure living environment worthy of being called “home,” and special services such as beauty and barber shops, libraries, social halls, recreational facilities, and places for religious expression. They saw a host of things as essential for enabling residents to enjoy meaningful life styles.

So today, the Foundation is concerned with more than providing shelter and collecting rents. It is interested in the whole person — the physical, social, mental, and spiritual welfare of its residents. The Foundation seeks to offer supportive living environments which will enhance the personal freedom, independence, self-confidence, and well-being of its residents.