An Enjoyable Place to Live

“Living in a senior building is a little different. I never lived in an apartment before,” says Annie Smith, a 77 year old resident of Catholic Charities’ Bernardin Manor in Calumet City. Ms. Smith has lived at Bernardin Manor since the building opened in June 2000. Smith drives, so she shops for her own groceries, and attends church services in her old neighborhood. However, because of back problems, she does have a homemaker service come three times a week to help with cleaning the apartment and doing laundry. “I like Bernardin Manor,” sums up Smith. “You just can’t say enough.”

Other Seniors Enjoying Life in Catholic Charities Senior Residences

In her younger years, a mother loves her family tirelessly, making sure their needs are met. In her later years, a mother may need care that her children cannot provide. Like a mother, Catholic Charities helps thousands of these older adults each day, including mothers, through its senior housing and senior social services, making sure they are healthy and surrounded by a loving community as they age.

One such mother is Estela Lara, 79, who found a new home at Catholic Charities’ Bishop Conway Residence on the North Side of Chicago after living alone for years.

Bishop Conway offers supportive living facilities, meaning that the residence is a great “in-between” housing option for seniors who can no longer live completely on their own, but who do not need the full-time skilled care of a nursing home. The Bishop Conway Residence fulfills the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of 30 seniors like Estela.

“After 40 years of work I got sick … I stayed at the hospital for two months. After that time, they told me that I couldn’t live by myself,” recalls Estela. “My mom had passed away, my children were married, and loneliness is really sad, so I thought, ‘What can I do?’ I knew about the Bishop Conway Residence, and I thank God I chose to live here. In the residence everyone has their own bedroom. We have privacy, respect, and peace. We live happily and we don’t feel alone,” Estela says.

Estela is also still working everyday—but on her own terms this time. As a volunteer at her parish, St. Philomena, which is located next to the Bishop Conway Residence, she serves as a Eucharistic minister to the sick and volunteers with the parish’s many activities.

In a normal day Estela keeps busy all the time, attending Mass, eating with other residents, and attending activities like art classes.

Life has not been easy for Estela, which is perhaps why she so values the tranquil community at the Bishop Conway Residence. When you see Estela for the first time, you immediately see a smiling and cheerful woman. When you talk to this mother of two and grandmother of five, she has many stories to tell. When Estela arrived in the United States in 1956 she worked up to four jobs at a time to support her two children.

In many moments of stress and uncertainty, she had to have faith that things would work out for herself and her children. Now, she sees the enduring impact of a mother’s love in her children, who have been successful and stayed close to her.

Estela calls her son, a high school principal, her “first treasure” and her daughter, her “second love,” and she cherishes their visits to the Bishop Conway Residence.

In addition to the Bishop Conway Residence, Catholic Charities provides seniors like Estela with affordable housing at 16 sites throughout the Chicago area, and one nursing home.