Providing Housing for Seniors Without Savings

By Cathy Mendel

My mother worked her whole life, well into her 70’s, and was a caregiver to her own parents. When my husband became terminally ill, she was there to care for him like a son and was my emotional support when he passed away.

We were two women trying to be each other’s safety net because we had no other family close by. So together, we decided to leave South Florida for Atlanta to be closer to my sister and her family.

For a few years, it all worked. My mother lived in a nearby apartment and was able to get around her immediate neighborhood. As her finances became drained, she lived with my sister and me.

We took my mother to see some independent living places, but she wasn’t ready. She did put her name on the waiting list for the Jewish Tower, which accepts low-income seniors, and we crossed our fingers. Almost a year later, an apartment became available, and though she was reluctant, I urged her to give it a try.

Today my 82-year-old mother, Lorry, lives in an immaculate one bedroom apartment at the Jewish  Tower and has a wonderful social life. She attends concerts, movies, and plays, takes art classes, plays Rummikub. There isn’t much she doesn’t sign up to do. Providing housing for seniors without savings is what a great Jewish community does. This is more than a safety net, it is a mitzvah!