St. Mary Development Corp.

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About

    St. Mary Development began in 1989, when we bought St. Leonard’s Seminary from the Franciscan’s for $1 and then raised enough money to build the first affordable senior housing community in the Dayton area. While we no longer own or operate St. Leonard’s in Centerville, we have gone on to develop or co-develop over 60 apartment communities comprised of more than 4,000 units. Our new apartments are created to be affordable (they are not subsidized) where seniors pay rent at 20-40% lower than market rate apartments. Our senior independent-living communities are designed to meet the needs of poor seniors and include no-step entries, wide halls and doors, low counter-tops, and energy efficient systems and appliances to keep utility costs low. For many of our seniors, who have been living in poverty, our apartments are the nicest place they have ever lived. Nearly 16% of our seniors were once homeless, so having an apartment to call their own is often transformational.

    In 2013, we took a closer look at our low-income senior residents and found most were struggling to get by each day. They were capable of living on their own yet nearly 82% were dependent on Social Security as their only source of income. Many of our seniors worked all their lives but were unable to save for their later years because they’d lived paycheck-to-paycheck. When evaluating the annual incomes of our senior residents, the average annual income is $12,300, with 32% living on less than $10,000 a year. Even with our affordable rents, most of are barely making it. Many were facing many of the social determinants of health, including lack of access to food, transportation or healthcare services. 

   In 2014,  we began St. Mary Connect  - a program of service coordination. Senior residents are able to meet with a Service Coordinator who can connect them to free programs available throughout in the Miami Valley. Some of the programs may include meals through Senior Resource Connection (formerly known as Meals on Wheels), donations of fresh foods from the Foodbank, furniture and household items from St. Vincent’s Furniture Bank, access to utility or rent assistance programs, free transportation for medical appointments, or over 100 other services available to seniors. Without assistance from a St. Mary Connect Service Coordinator our seniors struggle to successfully navigate the often very complex social services network. Additionally, many of the services are only accessible through online applications. A significant number of our seniors have never used a computer and would not know where to turn for help. When they cannot get the help they need seniors often give-up and when this happens it can result in life threatening illnesses, hunger, isolation, and in some cases homelessness.  This is bad for both the senior, whose health deteriorates, as well as the community at large whose tax dollars end up paying the cost of more expensive safety-net programs or nursing care when a resident is in crisis. 

Contacts

Primary
Ms. Cathy Campbell
Director of Philanthropy

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