Home First® is Where the Heart is
Robert Ratchford loves movies. He likes all types of movies but has a special place in his heart for action movies. As he sits at the Seabury’s Home First® Residences living room surrounded by hundreds of DVDs a western movie is on the TV in the background. Robert is generally a private person and shares that no one has really asked about his life before today. Besides movies he enjoys time with his daughters, watching the Washington Football team, and reading the newspaper every morning. And he won’t read just any newspaper. He doesn’t enjoy the Washington Post because it’s too “big.” With a huge smile on his face he comments that he gets his news from the “Express” - the local newspaper most commonly found at Metro Stations throughout the city.
Today, Robert is content with his movies and newspapers and spending time with family. But it wasn’t always this way. Before moving to Seabury’s Home First® Residences, Robert struggled with his home situation. He was not able to live entirely alone but also not quite ready for a fully assisted living environment. In his own words, “he felt caught between two worlds.”
After the unexpected death of his longtime girlfriend, Robert went to live with his daughter. Robert struggles with his memory and his eyesight is poor. And he was having a hard time managing his diabetes. His daughter works full time and she has three children. They were sharing a small apartment in DC. The toll of caregiving along with poor health, strained the relationship between Robert and his daughter. Together they decided to find a better living option for him. Last July they found Seabury’s Home First Residences.
Now Robert lives in Seabury’s Home First® Residences and his life has completely changed for the better. He has made friends and he raves about the food. What he loves most is the variety and security of living with other people. He knows he isn’t alone and he now feels comfortable reaching out for help. But what’s most important is that the help is now at his fingertips. Today Robert spends his day in activities with his friends or watching movies in the living room of his Home First® Residence. He is finally at peace and at home.
The Home First® Residences would not be able to offer community-supported, housing programs for at-risk older adults living in Washington, D.C. without people like you. If you would like to support older adults like Robert please use the enclosed envelope to make your gift today.
Seabury’s Home First® Residences provides supportive, permanent housing for at-risk older adults. Home First's® programs focus on older adults most in need, whether through limited physical capacity, poverty, homelessness, or lack of family or other social support. Home First® operates three homes in the District . One is a Community Residence Facility which provides 24 hour care including meals preparation, medication management, and social service support. The other two homes offer shared housing with staff support to connect residents to benefits,medical and social services.
