Nestled in the Lower 9 ^th Ward is a beacon of hope and assistance for many of South Louisiana’s elderly population. 

Villa St. Maurice sits at 500 St. Maurice Avenue. Its presence of brick and stone sits among much older homes. About 80 people call the apartment complex home. One of those residents has lived there from the beginning. Debra Gilbert moved in just days after Villa St. Maurice opened 2 years ago. Thinking back over the past 24 months, Ms. Gilbert says, “It changed because we have new residents. Now we eat four days a week here.” Ms. Gilbert is referring to the food program that is made possible through a recent partnership between Christopher Homes and Giving Hope.

The hot lunches are delivered to residents four days a week. The meals are made in a kitchen across town at St. Martin Manor, another Christopher Homes property. Those meals are prepared by Giving Hope staff. They are packed up and driven to several Christopher Homes properties, including Villa St. Maurice. The residents don’t pay a cent. Villa St. Maurice resident Cecile LaFrance helps serve those meals. She says, “Things have come together a little better. At the end of the month it’s a very good help to the people.”

Phil Hall moved into Villa St. Maurice one year ago. He works on the garden at the apartment complex. Mr. Hall says he has big plans for his plots of vegetables, he say he hopes “to give enough vegetables for everyone here at Villa St. Maurice and some in the community”. To Mr. Hall Villa St. Maurice is so much more than affordable living. He says he “enjoys being around the people who live inside its walls”.

As for Gussie Celestine, she runs the thrift store at the “Villa” as it’s called. She takes great pride in her store. Ms. Celestine has been living at Villa St. Maurice since the beginning. She moved in on the very first day it was open. Ms. Celestine says, “I find everything here to be a blessing. There are things we would be paying that we’re not paying, like water and electricity that would be more money. I have nothing to complain about. Now you don’t have to stress because you do have enough to keep you in here.” As for her thrift store, she says, “My dad taught me as a kid that if you’re going to give something to somebody, give the best.” It’s with that mantra that Ms. Celestine runs the apartment complex’s thrift shop “I don’t do stains and I don’t do tears”.

Many had some glowing words for the management at Villa St. Maurice. “Ms. Tanisha (Goodman) is just so loving with us. She’s never short with us and she doesn’t really have the time, but she makes the time,” says Ms. Celestine.
The “Villa” is becoming a part of the fabric of the neighborhood.  There are many great things ahead for Villa St. Maurice and the residents are hopeful for another great year.