Letter to the Editor

What follows is my letter to the editor of The Baltimore Sun in response to Sunday's Parade Magazine article on the Green House Model.

The Parade magazine feature Where To Live As We Age by Susan Fine which appeared on May 31, 2009 inspired me to write about the benefits of a healthy nonprofit infrastructure in a community like Baltimore, especially during an economic downturn. The faith and community based Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation (GEDCO) is poised to develop the first GREEN HOUSE® Residences in the state of Maryland, at Stadium Place. In the short run this “shovel ready”, job creating, environmentally friendly project will have strong economic benefits for our community. In the longer term this first replication of the innovative Green House model will showcase Baltimore and Maryland in the forefront of the national transformation in long term care environments for our elders.

Forty-nine (49) frail elders (one thousand over the life of the facility) will thrive and grow in the Green House setting that, unlike traditional nursing homes, is not an impersonal institution but rather a true home where the residents can receive the medical and supportive care they need without that care becoming the focus of their lives. No nurses stations, no medicine carts, no uniforms - - because you wouldn’t find them in your own home. And no artificial schedules to meet. Rather, the Green House residences will be a community of elders and their “shabbazim” (the self managed care workers) who let each day unfold according to the choices and natural life rhythms of each elder. You might smell fresh-baked brownies or dinner cooking, instead of the smell of disinfectant. Residents might be helping prepare lunch in the kitchen, or perhaps sitting reading in front of the fireplace, sipping a beverage on the screened in porch, or enjoying the privacy of their own room. Medical staff will support the elders and the shabbazim, but the elders and shabbazim will direct daily life in the Green House residences.

Fifty-one (51) new, full time equivalent positions will be created, with additional jobs supported for those providing ancillary health care services. One hundred twenty (120) construction jobs will be generated during the course of building this $11.7 million facility, which will be designed to LEED- Silver standards. Additional time-limited employment is currently being supported through the design and other pre - development phases of the project.

The Green House residences will be part of GEDCO’s Stadium Place affordable retirement community (on the site formerly of Memorial Stadium), where ultimately more than 500 older adults will continue to live meaningful and engaged lives. The Stadium Place community currently includes 340 subsidized apartments for seniors in four buildings, a community built playground, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Y at Stadium Place, the ThanksGiving Place entry plaza and a variety of supportive services to assist older adults in living independently in the community. None of this would have been possible without the inspired, tenacious, dedicated and sophisticated work of the volunteers and staff who make groups like GEDCO go!

GEDCO has been able to develop Stadium Place and the Green House residences over the last several years, with the support of public funding, individual contributions, private foundations, faith congregations, and the business community. A key to GEDCO’s ability to respond to opportunities like the Green House demonstration project is the participation of private sector donors who have the flexibility and are willing to invest in a nonprofit’s day-to-day operations, knowing that nonprofit organizations are a source of innovation, community improvement, and economic development. In one example, Bank of America’s annual Neighborhood Excellence Initiative® has given GEDCO and other Baltimore-based nonprofits large unrestricted core operating grants that allow us to pursue our mission in a fiscally sound, flexible and strategic manner. The local community ultimately benefits from new jobs, adaptive reuse of abandoned properties, and innovative approaches to vexing community problems. It makes good business sense for individuals, institutions and businesses to invest in nonprofits that contribute to the economic and social health of the areas where they conduct their business and where they live.

It is this flexible private support from businesses, foundations, individuals and faith congregations, coupled with critical public support from the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland, that is making it possible for GEDCO to develop the Green House Residences at Stadium Place, with its spin-off economic benefits and its incalculable positive impact on the well-being of low and moderate income elders. It is in times like this that continued strong support is a vital investment in maintaining the capacity of organizations like GEDCO to serve the community in both the reliable and innovative ways which address issues and take advantage of opportunities which otherwise might be missed.