At the beginning of May, the Clearfield Area Agency on Aging Inc. was made aware that Marion Manor, located in Curwensville, would be closing its doors.
At that time, the 15 residents of Marion Manor were informed of the facility closure dated for June 1, requiring these residents to make alternative living arrangements.
The CCAAA team immediately stepped in to complete necessary functionality and social service assessments for each older adult impacted, while also holding an informative family meeting for all impacted to provide options.
Of the 15 residents, six remained who did not have a home to transition to. CCAAA then reached out to the owner of two homes in Clearfield, which had been used by another organization as “shared homes.”
The decision was made to lease these properties with the intent to own, providing housing for these six older adults facing homelessness and increasing the agency’s shared home count to three.
Within the following two weeks, CCAAA staff cleaned, furnished and landscaped both shared homes, making them “move-in ready” for the new tenants.
The transition of the six older adults from the personal care home to the shared living arrangement went much better than anticipated and these older adults are having a wonderful experience.
CCAAA now provides shared housing for nine older adults, in Clearfield and Curwensville, all of whom would be in institutional care if not for this community-based option.
Additionally, CCAAA was approached, in March of 2021, by the owner of the Dimeling Senior Residence at the time, about assisting in transitioning all of the residents there to other housing because of intent to close the building.
The Dimeling, a 33-unit apartment building in downtown Clearfield, has provided much-needed housing in the Clearfield County community for lower income older adults.
Through much negotiation and paperwork, the agency’s subsidiary, Mature Resources, agreed to accept ownership and management responsibilities for the building in order to keep it operational and a viable option for seniors in need of housing.
While more information is slated to be released soon, CCAAA has also made significant development progress on the innovative, supportive Village of Hope Community – originally planned for the previous Girard-Goshen Elementary School site in Lecontes Mills.
The Village of Hope will now be located off of Route 322, between Bigler and Philipsburg, in Boggs Township, West Decatur. Funding has been secured to build the first 10 homes and construction is set to begin this summer 2022.
Programs and services of the agency are funded in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging Inc., Mature Resources Foundation and local and consumer contributions.