Gethsemane Manor Attracts Residents and Resources

02/22/2005

Buffalo, New York––Neighborhood Networks centers minimize vacancies and give properties a positive image in the community––“our best advertisement,” says John Varecka of CRM Rental Management, Inc. Since opening in March 2003, Gethsemane Manor Neighborhood Networks Center, a CRM-managed site, has been a magnet for the 50 senior citizens who live there. Monday through Friday the center provides computer classes and other programs that encourage elderly residents to come to the center and join in activities. Supportive management, an energetic center director, and strong partnerships are key to Gethsemane’s successes. Supportive Management CRM enthusiastically supports Neighborhood Networks and praises the benefits that onsite centers bring to residents and the property. “We opened the Gethsemane center because it would provide a convenient place for senior citizens to come for education programs, computer classes, and socializing. We promote the center to residents as a place where they can have fun and meet their friends,” says Varecka. Many Gethsemane residents in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, who had been fearful about using computers, now regularly send and receive e-mails, research medications on the Internet, and make greeting cards, according to Varecka. Residents have also made calendars and put photos and graphics on T-shirts and then used profits from selling these items to help sustain the center. “When seniors come to the center, they often help each other use the computers. If someone gets an e-mail from her grandchild and doesn’t know how to open the attached photo, another resident will show her how,” says Varecka. “Through e-mail, residents are able to contact relatives they had not talked to in a while.” “Neighborhood Networks centers provide many emotional and psychological benefits to residents of senior citizen properties,” says Varecka. “The centers promote interaction––residents have a place to go to do interesting things. Without an onsite community center, senior citizens would be more likely to sit alone in their apartments and watch TV all day. The residents’ adult children see that their mom or dad is getting out, going to the community center, and staying active. As a result, families feel good about where their elderly parents are living.” Dynamic Director Willette Karemba-Brown, Gethsemane’s Neighborhood Networks coordinator and property manager, is another force behind the center’s success, according to Peggy Spaner, the Neighborhood Networks coordinator in the Buffalo HUD Office. “Willette’s accomplishments with the program have enriched the lives of the residents. She is always reaching out to residents to find out what they would like to accomplish through the Neighborhood Networks program.” “With the management skills Willette demonstrated early on as site manager for the property, I knew she and the property would be excellent candidates for this worthwhile initiative,” says Linda Dixon, adjunct Neighborhood Networks coordinator in the Buffalo office. “Both Yvonne Harris, retired senior project manager and past coordinator for Neighborhood Networks here in the Buffalo Office, and I were confident that Willette could and would be successful in this venture, and we were right.” Generous Partners By developing a variety of public and private partnerships, Gethsemane Neighborhood Networks Center is able to offer successful programs. “The HUD Buffalo Office has been phenomenal,” says Varecka. “The office provided surplus computers to equip the center and permitted use of residual receipts to cover some center expenses. M&T Bank provided paper and materials for the computer lab. Inky Fingers, a local printer, donated stationery, colored paper, and card stock for residents to make computer greeting cards.” CRM Management also provided resources for center startup and operation. Karemba-Brown devotes part of her day to coordinating center activities. “She continues to do a tremendous job with the part-time hours she spends there,” says Spaner. “And the whole complex is involved and participating in some way. Joe Shick, a carpenter with CRM, made the center’s four computer cabinets.” Community residents also volunteer at the Gethsemane center. Buffalo State College students and local church members come regularly to teach computer skills and socialize with residents. Celebrating Accomplishments “Four times each year we have 6- to 8-week computer sessions for the residents, focusing on a new computer skill or project and reinforcing the skills that were taught at the last session(s). Usually there are 10 to 20 residents in attendance. Classes are taught by both paid instructors and volunteers. At the end of each session there is a closing ceremony to celebrate the new skills the residents have mastered. It is also time to share completed projects with classmates, neighbors, and management,” says Brown. “The most recent session focused on restoring old photos and transferring them to T-shirts or enlarging them from wallet-size to 5- by 7-inch photos to share with family and friends. A few of the residents are beginning to ask family members to e-mail (another skill some have mastered) photos to make copies for their personal albums,” adds Brown. “During a recent closing ceremony, six residents were recognized for their projects––two for outstanding progress, four for completing the project, and two for graduating to become computer tutors. Each resident received a certificate of completion.” For more information about Neighborhood Networks centers in New York State, contact: Peggy Spaner U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development–Buffalo Office 465 Main Street Lafayette Court, Second Floor Buffalo, NY 14203-1780 Phone: (716) 551–5755, ext. 5517 Email: peggy_j._spaner@hud.gov. For more information about Gethsemane Manor Neighborhood Networks Center, contact: Willette Karemba-Brown Gethsemane Manor Neighborhood Networks Center 228 Kingsley Street Buffalo, NY 14208 Phone: (716) 885–5455 E-mail: Geth1@mail.buffnet.net

Center(s) Highlighted or Profiled:	Gethsemane Manor
Scope:	National

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