Alpha Phi Alpha Homes

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Alpha Homes saw the need for nutritional and support services for the elderly and disabled residents of Williams Tower. The CHSP program, funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was the perfect vehicle to provide these necessary services.

Dorothy Connelly joined the Alpha Homes staff in 1984 as the CHSP Coordinator. Dorothy supervises 6 staff members and 5 volunteers who provide meal services for residents of Williams Tower, Callis Tower, and Wesley Tower. (All three of these high-rise buildings are operated by Alpha Homes and located in Akron.) The staff cooks and packages the meals and delivery services are provided by tenant volunteers at each building.

To further the objectives of the CHSP Program and to meet the needs of the residents of these three senior/disabled buildings (526 total units), Alpha Homes contracted with the area agency on aging (AAA) in 1984 to provide additional meal services through the Passport Program and the Alpha Nutrition Program. Alpha Homes, HUD/CHSP, and the AAA partner to provide, on an average, 500 meals per week for qualified residents in these buildings.

Barbara Cartwright and Alicia Hurd, Service Coordinators for Callis Tower and Wesley Tower, see first hand the increasing need for CHSP and the partnering food programs. "People do need the food assistance. Many residents don't have the money to eat. "Some would not eat without the meal services", says Barb Cartwright. Alicia Hurd adds, "the meal program is of a real benefit to my residents. They enjoy the home-cooked feel of the meals and the fresh vegetables".
Alpha Homes is honored to be associated with the Congregate Housing Services program for this significant period. Dorothy Connelly proudly states, "the CHSP Program has been wonderful for our residents. We have been able to provide good meals at minimum cost. The meal programs promote socialization between the tenants and helps keep them engaged. With this service they can continue to live independently." Twenty-seven years of "mission accomplished" and counting.

Alpha Phi Alpha Homes, Inc
662 Wolf Ledges Parkway
Akron, OH 44311-1511
330-376-8787
http://www.alphahomes.org