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A Space for Community- St. Joseph Place
St. Joseph Place offers much-needed affordable, independent living for low-income seniors in southwest Atlanta. People like Amy and couples like Karen and Jim enjoy a peaceful wooded community near the grounds of the Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Each day St. Joseph Place offers stability to its residents by providing stable housing for vulnerable seniors on fixed incomes. The residents simply know St. Joseph Place as home.
When their community room closed in 2018 due to COVID, residents were promised it would be updated when it reopened. Residents waited patiently for the resources and hands to transform their space into a welcoming place to play cards, share meals and gather in community once again. On February 1st their community room was finally ready. Fr. Desmond Drummond blessed the updated community room and offered a prayer of fellowship for the residents.
It took several different teams participating using their time and talent to make it happen all under the direction of Catholic Charities Atlanta. Various groups contributed supplies. A local construction company donated all of the skilled labor needed for the renovation. Students from Therrell High School Art Club repainted all of the tables and chairs so they could be reused. Generous individual and corporate donors secured by the Office of Mission Advancement used their treasure to be the life of the church and provided the new appliances, flooring and furniture needed for the transformation of this vital space.
Vanessa Russell, CEO of Catholic Charities, called the renovation “a great collaboration of the Catholic community to serve seniors in need.”
Today St. Joseph place residents enjoy using the kitchen, playing cards, watching television, and chatting with one another in the common area. The fresh multi-use space will be a welcomed community gathering place for years to come.
“We love giving back to the community. It is so gratifying to help create this space for the residents of St. Joseph Place.”
-Carolyn Johnson, Board Member
Ivy Brown, the first resident of St. Joseph Place, who has lived here for 26 years, was amazed at the renovation. She simply said the new space “is beautiful”.
