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Episcopal Church Dedicates Housing for Disabled

Episcopal News Service. December 8, 1989 [89255]

DEWITT, New York, Nov. 12 -- Over 100 visitors crowded into the small lobby for the dedication of St. David's Court, a two-story apartment building for the physically disabled. The complex is a joint effort of St. David's Episcopal Church in DeWitt, New York, and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with assistance from the Diocese of Central New York.

"This is not a building -- it is a community," said the Rt. Rev. O'Kelley Whitaker, bishop of Central New York in his dedicatory remarks. "I believe that God calls us to live together in unity as a family. And here we have a family. God's mission is blessed and praised," said Whitaker.

While housing for people with physical disabilities is not a new idea, most is geared to the elderly. St. David's Court is open to people of all ages, and its residents range in age from 22 to 80. The 24 one-bedroom apartments, all occupied, are designed for independent living.

Bishop Whitaker said that St. David's Court is an example of what happens when church, state, and community work together. The impetus for the project came originally through the diocesan Ministry with Persons with Disabilities. Seed money for St. David's Court came in the form of a $23,500 grant from Venture in Mission, a 1985 project of the Diocese of Central New York that raised almost $2 million for a variety of ministries. That grant, held in escrow, in effect opened up $1.5 million in funding from HUD.