A Catholic senior housing community in Philadelphia is marking its 10th anniversary of helping elderly residents form a community marked by faith, love, safety, familiarity, cultural vibrancy, and even its own unofficial mayor.
St. Francis Villa, part of Catholic Charities of Philadelphia, has constructed such a community in the changing neighborhoods of Kensington.
Residents and staff celebrated with a vibrant party Tuesday afternoon, June 23 to mark the anniversary.
“He told me I was the mayor here,” Pedro A. Torres quips about an encounter with a past leader of Catholic Charities he once met.
Pedro A. Torres, known among residents as the unofficial “mayor” of St. Francis Villa, attends the Catholic senior housing community’s 10th anniversary celebration June 23. Torres is one of 18 residents who have lived at St. Francis Villa since it opened in 2015. (Photo by Jay Sorgi)
Of the 40 residents at the home on Emerald Street, Torres is among 18 who have lived there all 10 years of its existence.
“I’ve been looking out for the old people here, to make sure that they’re OK,” he added amidst the celebratory beat of Latin music that came over a DJ’s speaker. “It’s great.”
Kristi Bennett, a Catholic Charities social worker at St. Francis Villa, leads the community and helps build much more than a safe and affordable housing option for seniors who are at least 62 years old.
“They really do get along and form their own groups and community within the building,” she said.
She sees how St. Francis Villa keeps residents connected to a neighborhood where so many of the residents have lived much of their life, especially as East Kensington has seen increased gentrification in recent years.
“As the neighborhood has started to change and grow, there was just such a need for there to be an affordable option for people when they’re aging, so they don’t have to go somewhere else,” Bennett said.
“They’re still here in the neighborhood where they have their family, they have their grocery store, their favorite restaurants. It’s everything that they’ve grown accustomed to and they can stay right here with where they want to be.”
Elizabeth Means-Binns, a spunky and energetic 10-year resident at St. Francis Villa, has called North Philadelphia home for much of her life. She saw St. Francis Villa as a way of continuing her life near her family.
That family has grown with her diverse housemates at St. Francis Villa.
“It’s a joy to be around people who all grew up in the same timeframe, even if we didn’t grow up in the same places,” she said.
Means-Binns, who stays active writing and sewing, shares how the community at St. Francis Villa affords her the freedom to live in the manner she wishes.
“Everybody can just do their own thing,” she said. “I don’t feel pressed (and) I feel very supported by the staff.”
Bennett shows her fondness for the community as well, speaking about her commitment to it as she set up the cake, the buffet lunch, and the DJ for the anniversary party.
She returned to working with seniors eight years ago, after years raising her children.
“I just really just felt pulled towards the seniors because they’ve given so much of themselves to the world and the community,” she said. “I just want to serve them and make their lives as good as possible for as long as we can have them here in the building.”
Means-Binns and Torres show they want to stay there, even if Means-Binns gets occasional teasing from the “mayor.”
“Don’t get me started!” she said with a friendly cackle.
A resident of St. Francis Villa dances during the community’s 10th anniversary celebration June 23 in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. (Photo by Jay Sorgi)
Bennett cites the tapestry of social programs and parties like last month’s feast and dance-fest as part of the thriving life that St. Francis Villa’s residents experience, from health education classes to monthly parties, as well as attachment to the neighboring Norris Square Senior Center.
She adds that some residents volunteer there as well as at nearby St. Francis Inn, a soup kitchen and social service center for persons experiencing homelessness.
“They’re really still giving back their gifts to this community,” Bennett said, adding she was “so thankful that we can have a place like this for them to be involved.”
Means-Binns recommends anyone of qualifying age to apply to live there, joking that she wants to build a family wing there.
“My sisters, my siblings and my cousins who all grew up together,” she said.
Bennett shared two words when asked to succinctly summarize the community at St. Francis Villa: “Vibrant, joyful.”
Many of the longtime residents of St. Francis Villa will gladly concur, recognizing how God has led them there to find safe, empowering, life-giving community,
“When God puts you someplace,” Torres said, “He knows what He put you there for.”
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