In addition to housing stability, education, and health & wellness programming, promoting community engagement throughout our resident populations has been a core pillar of our resident services model for the last several years. As a means to break down cultural barriers and promote emotional well-being, our on-site staff encourage residents to be active and involved members of their immediate community and the greater community at-large. Residents have responded in various ways such as helping to organize holiday parties, joining their property gardening club, and participating in the 2020 Census.
Even during the pandemic, residents like Ms. I.C. have found time to give back to their community.
Ms. I.C., a fashion designer living in Wexford Manor Apartments, volunteered to make masks for all 245 residents in her community if provided the resources – the fabric and sewing machine. Ms. I.C. was ready and willing to put her skills to use to bring peace and comfort to her neighbors.
Resident Services Coordinator Abby Gurara purchased the fabrics, including fun prints to be used for the 87 children under the age of 18 living in the community. Ms. I.C. then prepared the masks with the help of her two children cutting and assembling the fabric. She even adjusted the mask sizes for the 47 small children between the ages of 3-11 years old who call Wexford Manor home.
When Ms. I.C. completed the face masks, Wesley Housing awarded her with a $400 Visa gift card to help alleviate hardships experienced from the COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful for the kindness Ms. I.C. has shown her community.