News and Press Releases

Home for formerly homeless elders gets makeover

The Jamaica Plain Gazette
March 18, 2005

Sumner Hill - The sound of hammers pounding was music to her ears. the pain fumes didn't matter, and neither did the furniture piled up in the middle of the rooms.

"I think it's marvelous," beamed Freda Hardy, one of nine formerly homeless senior women who now call the Bishop Street house undergoing an "Extreme Makeover" their home.

A three-year resident of the house, owned and run by The Committee to End Elder Homelessness (CEEH), Hardy explained that she became homeless when family members died. After spending five months living at the Pine Street Inn, she was accepted in the CEEH program in JP.

"When I first saw my room here I just thought, 'That's mine!' And now I wouldn't trade this place for anywhere else. It's the best place to be," she affirmed. "I especially like what they're doing to the rec room."

The project to renovate the historic Victorian house is a partnership between CEEH and Channel 5 WCVB-TV. It emulates the ABC parent network's highly popular show, "Extreme Makeover-Home Edition." In the program, deserving families get their modest homes completely renovated or built in one week by a team of professional contractors and designers.

At Bishop Street, the Boston Edition as more modest, but just as appreciated. Volunteers refurbished a new kitchen, then stripped wallpaper, and patched, painted and laid down new floors in other first-floor rooms. In the rec room, they installed a giant TV in the wall and added carpeting with comfortable lounges.

"I don't mind any inconvenience. In fact, it's kind of fun. Thanks to all the people ho work on this, it's very nice," said Dotty Robinson, a resident for 10 years who also serves as a senior companion to housemates during trips to the doctor or stores.

Amy O'Doherty, CEEH director of development, said she was "overwhelmed by how many people pitched in, plus all the regular volunteers who come by to help the ladies cook and shop."

A long list of big-name donors and working groups includes Jordan's Furniture, Sears, Sovereign Bank, Boston Cares, Blue Cross Blue Shield, MIT and Tuft's Health Plan.

But O'Doherty also stressed her appreciation to local donors like Same Old Place and Dunkin' Donuts.

"We sent out letters to neighbors letting them know what's happening, and one man who walks his dog by the house actually came over and worked one day patching the walls. He was very good, too. I only know his name was Fred, but I want to thank him. That kind of support means a lot to all of us."

According to O'Doherty, Channel 5 selected Bishop Street after getting a recommendation from the city's Department of Neighborhood Development. She called CEEH a national model, integrating permanent housing with support services, clinical staff, case managers and outreach.

CEEH currently runs six permanent sites in the Boston area, serving 122 formerly homeless seniors, with plans to open tow more buildings in the next few years.

The House on Bishop Street, the agency's first site, opened in 1992. Three of the original CEEH residents still live there.

Although no stereotypical of what most people think of as the homeless profile, elders are the fastest-growing population using shelters in Massachusetts, according to a recent study by the McCormick Institute of UMass Boston. A recent Boston Emergency Shelter Commission census found 26 percent of the city's street population is 55 years or older.

The study also reported that one in five Boston elders 65 and older now live below the poverty line, with almost half struggling to survive below a livable income.

For information about what you can do to support homeless elders call CEEH at 369-1550.