Brandywine Center Resdient, Judy Lelar

Giving Seniors a Home and a Family

Could health be directly linked to housing and a community’s environment? According to a recent U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development study, that’s exactly the case—and Judy Lelar is a perfect example.

After declining health ended her 45-year career as a licensed practical nurse, she and her husband, Dale, a copy center retiree, were evicted from their Levittown, Pa., apartment. Then they spent two months sleeping on cots in the sacristy of a Bucks County church.

“I felt pathetic,” she recalls. “I was grateful to the church but you can’t live on a cot. You don’t know what it’s like to not have an address; it’s one of the worse things that can happen to you."

Fortunately, the Lelars were among the first residents to move into one of the Brandywine Center’s 24 subsidized senior citizen apartments. “The people that manage this place are really terrific,” Mrs. Lelar says. “They gave us a home and a community … with the neighbors we’re like one big family.”

Mrs. Lelar, 67, and her 75-year-old husband enjoy playing pinochle and board games, as well as sharing holiday meals and parties, with their neighbors. In addition, for its residents the Brandywine Center each month schedules walks, Bingo, movies and trips to Walmart. There are also educational speakers and occasional trips to such destinations as Longwood Gardens, as well as the yoga classes and dancing sessions that Mrs. Lelar enjoys.

“If you’re bored it’s your own fault,” she says.

Additional perks include on-site support, also available to assist residents in applying for any applicable benefits or resolving any issues they might have, and free memberships at the Coatesville Senior Center, the YMCA and the Senior Circle – a  national organization that promotes senior health and socialization. The Lelars take advantage of the free transportation provided to the Coatesville Senior Center, where they are eligible for three free lunches per week.

“We’re very happy here,” concludes Mrs. Lelar. “We couldn’t ask for more.”

The Brandywine Health Foundation’s initiative, leadership and underwriting made the Brandywine Center a reality. Low-interest, long-term loans from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and Community Lenders CDC helped to finance the first and fourth floors where ChesPenn, Community Lenders, Child Guidance, and Human Services provide care. But it was the federal low-income housing tax credits made available through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, the PNC Multi-Family Capital’s partnership, the Federal Home Loan Bank and the Chester County Department of Community Development that made it possible for two dozen senior citizens to move into safe, clean, modern apartments in the heart of Coatesville.

View a short video featuring Judy Lelar.

The Brandywine Center

Houses ChesPenn Health Services, Chester County Community Dental, Child Guidance Resource Centers and 24 subsidized senior citizen apartments.

By The Numbers

2008
First year of Brandywine Health Foundation support

$30,000
Most recent BHF grant

$417,628
Total BHF grant support