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May 12, 2021
Christopher Homes is the affordable housing program of the Archdiocese of New Orleans providing some 2,500 seniors with decent, affordable housing.
The staff of 150 is dedicated to that ministry and lives out that dedication in service to residents.
The staff’s concern for residents was illustrated clearly throughout the pandemic, said Deacon Dennis Adams, executive director of Christopher Homes since 2005.
The pandemic forced the organization to adjust its operations with the safety of residents the No. 1 priority, Deacon Adams said.
The staff focused on maintaining clean environments while also assisting residents with procuring groceries and medication. Managers worked tirelessly to secure food and meal donations. Staff made daily deliveries of food and packages to relieve residents of the need to leave their apartments and expose themselves to the virus.
Recognizing that our properties are independent living and trying to see what could be done to help our residents remain both safe and live successfully, our staff really stepped up,” Deacon Adams said. “We have a meal program provided through Second Harvest and Giving Hope, and those meals were delivered to our residents’ apartments by our staff, sometimes a couple of times a day, seven days a week.
“Life changed for everybody, and all of a sudden, everything was being ordered online from Amazon. The number of deliveries of packages increased dramatically, so in order to keep our residents safe, our staff delivered those packages to their doors. Amazon and FedEx didn’t want to come into the building and left packages at the front door. It may have been food or medicine or whatever our residents needed. Our staff made it happen.”
Managers coordinated with a network of health and government agencies to secure on-site COVID testing at all properties. More recently, they coordinated on-site vaccinations accessible to all residents and staff. About two-thirds of residents are fully vaccinated, Deacon Adams said.
“With 2,500 souls to care for, even with this huge pandemic issue, we ended up with only 75 or 80 cases of COVID,” Deacon Adams said. “That all came about because the staff at the sites did so much to protect residents.”
Christopher Homes has reinstated visits from family members, transportation and activities on a limited basis. Some of the adjustments made during the pandemic are likely to continue, particularly helping residents use technology more frequently for regular doctors’ visits.
“We’re looking to see what we can do to increase Wi-Fi services at our properties to improve the ability of residents to stay in their apartments and visit with doctors online,” Deacon Adams said. “We’re trying to see where it’s going to go, but life has changed. We hope and pray we’re going to be able to get to normalcy, but it’s going to be a new normal.”
Christopher Homes has been selected annually as one of NOLA.com’s top places to work in the metro New Orleans area.
“We consider this selection a great honor and an acknowledgment of our mission-based organization since the selection criteria to belong to this elite group come from surveys taken of our employees,” Deacon Adams said.
As an agency of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Christopher Homes is committed to its staff and residents and, through collaboration, the needs of its sister agencies.
Christopher Homes provides housing and services to low-income seniors in properties from the northshore to the West Bank and from Meraux to Metairie.