"Here I feel safe."
Grand Place’s supportive, loving residents make it a wonderful place to live.
Before moving to Grand Place, one of St. Mary Development Corporation’s apartments for low-income seniors, Bessie Kirksey-Johnson lived in an apartment where she didn’t feel safe.
“It was very degrading, low housing,” said Bessie, who is called “Momma Bessie” by her friends. “There was a lot of crime there. Here I feel safe. More than safe — blessed.”
Much of the safe, family feel comes from Maxine Brooks, Grand Place’s manager.
“Miss Brooks manages with excellence!” said Bessie. “She always answers our calls.”
Bessie appreciates the activities offered at Grand Place — from the computer room and exercise classes to excursions to Cox Arboretum and trips to shop for groceries. One of her favorite activities is a monthly prayer breakfast.
Bessie gives as much as she receives. She ministers to Grand Place residents who have trouble leaving their rooms: taking them meals, playing cards or just chatting.
“If someone is sick, we are very concerned,” says Bessie. “If it’s been three days since we’ve seen you, we knock on your door.”
Bessie is active outside Grand Place, too. She’s a Church mother at Bibleway Christian Church and a senior advisor for the Dayton Chapter of the NAACP. She even has her own television show, “Chat and Chew with Mother,” on Dayton Public Access Television.
But it’s the family feeling that keeps Momma Bessie excited about living at Grand Place.
“We believe we are protected here,” said Bessie. “I love it here.”
Momma Bessie sees God at work at Grand Place. “There’s a lot of prayer here,” she says. “We believe we are protected.”
We work toward the day when
all residents of southwest Ohio -- especially the economically disadvantaged -- have a decent, affordable
place to live and become part of a thriving community.
