Fall River community coming together to help elderly residents through grant

Fall River has received some good news thanks to a grant and the help of several community organizations.

The City of Fall River has been notified that the Fall River Housing Authority was just awarded a competitive grant to revitalize the outdoor area of the Chor Bishop Eid apartment complex so the elderly residents there can safely enjoy the outdoors.

Several community organizations will be coming together to help make the project a reality.

Chor Bishop Eid residents meet on February 18th to come up with ideas for how to prove the shared spaces of their home. Juana Ahmed, Coretta Carreira, Debbie Cloe, Eleanor Costa, Vivian Cote, Arnaldo Ferreira, Katie Goldman, Donald Hamilton, Rachel Swedinovitch all contribute suggestions.

The Department of Housing and Community Development awarded a $100,000 Creative Placemaking grant to the Fall River Housing Authority for improvements to the exterior areas of the senior housing development.

Plans include re-landscaping the building’s courtyard; installing senior-friendly walkways, benches, and tables; creating a community garden with raised beds; and adding lighting and security cameras around the building.

According to a release, the project Co-Directors, Andrea Klimt, anthropologist at UMass Dartmouth and Director of the Health and Society program, and Marcia Picard, Executive Director of Greater Fall River Partners for a Healthier Community, worked closely with the residents of Bishop Eid to identify what kinds of improvements they wanted to see made to the shared areas of their home. Marcia Picard noted that “despite the unexpected challenges brought on by the pandemic, I remain very optimistic we will successfully achieve the aims of the grant.” Fall River’s State Representative, Carole Fiola, commented, “I’d like to thank Andrea, Marcia, DHCD, the FRHA and all who prepared this grant application. I was so proud to advocate for this project that will elevate the quality of life for the fine residents of Chor Bishop Eid who I’ve come to know, visit and care about. This is a true collaboration to benefit our Housing Authority residents.”

Numerous community organizations and schools will be contributing over $77,000 of in-kind assistance in order to turn the project plans into a reality.

Maria Torres and Stephen Camara, both at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, will be coordinating the work of Diman students as they get busy making outdoor tables and benches, a garden shed, and elevated vegetable beds. YouthBuild and GroundWork SouthCoast will bring Fall River youth in to work on the landscaping and gardening aspects of the project; the Fall River YMCA and Sarah Labossiere, Coordinator of Fall River Mass-in-Motion will help organize outdoor exercise opportunities for the building’s senior residents; and YEAH Corps, Inc. will contribute outdoor art made by young Fall River artists.

Tim Barrow, Executive Director of the Fall River Housing Authority, Rita LeBeau, FRHA’s Elderly Service Coordinator, and Dave Underhill and Ed Gagnon, both of the Fall River Housing Joint Tenant Council, will be offering their extensive experience to help with project implementation. As Andrea Klimt, Project Co-Director noted, “The enthusiasm and creative energy of the building residents as well as the many partners in this project has just been phenomenal. We obviously face many challenges given the uncertainties created by the pandemic – but we are determined to make good things happen that will have a long-lasting positive impact on the lives of people who make Bishop Eid their home.” As Donald Hamilton, President of the Bishop Eid Tenant Association, noted, the planned improvements will make a real difference and he ”can’t wait to get to work.”