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“Times New Roman”>Sheryl Wilson always thought 3225 N. Florissant Ave. was a place only rich people could go.
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“Times New Roman”>It must be a country club, thought Wilson, a nurse who has lived her whole life in North St. Louis city.
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“Times New Roman”>The perfect irony is: it’s actually the Little Sisters of the Poor, an independent living and nursing home for impoverished elders.
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“Times New Roman”>Catholic nuns live there. Elders who fall below the poverty line live there, and they have since 1869. It is rated a five-star facility by the Medicare.gov website, and it soars above many other nursing homes’ ratings as far as staff-patient ratios and health inspections.
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“Times New Roman”>However, its mission of serving needy elderly might not come across to neighbors, like Wilson, passing the enclosed campus with its tall brick building.
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“Times New Roman”>Wilson only found out what the facility was when she stepped inside to ask for a job about 36 years ago. Little Sisters was her second job; and at the time, that’s all it was – a job. She figured when she earned enough to buy her first home, she would quit.
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“Times New Roman”>Wilson remembers the day she arrived to work sick and told the Mother General of the congregation that she would “go ahead and do what I got to do.”
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“Times New Roman”>The sister told her, “You’re not going to do that. You’re going to sit here and eat this bowl of chicken noodle soup before you get started,” Wilson said. “That opened my eyes. They aren’t only caring for the old people; they also care for their employees.”
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“Times New Roman”>Now 36 years later, Wilson is the staff development coordinator. She has hours and hours of stories about the sisters’ compassion and kindness. Once she learned about the philosophy of Saint Jeanne Jugan, founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor national movement, it was no longer a job for her.
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“Times New Roman”>“Through all of that, I said, ‘Okay, Lord. I got it now,’” Wilson said. “We all can get a job, but the reason I’ve been here so long is that the Lord has given me an assignment to carry out.”
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“Times New Roman”>She loves working with elders. They are just interesting people to her, she said.
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“Times New Roman”>Where’s the black poor?
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“Times New Roman”>Here’s the second irony to the Little Sisters.
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“Times New Roman”>About 20 percent of the elders at Little Sisters are African-American, even though the neighborhood surrounding it is anywhere from 62 percent to 98 percent black, according to the U.S. Census.
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“Times New Roman”>In the U.S., about 20 percent of black elders live in poverty, and that’s more than twice the rate for all elderly, 9.7 percent, according to the U.S. Administration on Aging.
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“Times New Roman”>With these statistics, one would wonder why an institution with the mission to serve the poor and elderly would not have more African-American residents.
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“Times New Roman”>It’s not because they wouldn’t like to see more, Wilson said.
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“Times New Roman”>First, in the African-American community, Wilson said, it’s often looked down upon to place a parent or loved one in a nursing facility.
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“Times New Roman”>“In this area, they have a lot of senior-citizen buildings,” she said. “For the most part, their families come in and try to take care of them. And those that don’t have families, they are just in their homes.”
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“Times New Roman”>Mildred Moore lives in the William L. Clay Leisure Living senior home, and based on her experience, Wilson is right. Yet, Moore participates in the senior center program at the Little Sisters. She’ll tell anyone – and at least 10 times – that she loves it.
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“Times New Roman”>As part of the center, seniors go on field trips to Wal-mart, casinos, restaurants and other places. They have holiday parties, where they “boogie down,” Moore said. They also get a full lunch with soup, salad, an entrée and dessert at the home, all for free or little cost.
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“Times New Roman”>“When you get to a certain age, you have a tendency to be depressed about certain things that happen in your life,” Moore said. “But coming here, it’s a great feeling. I’m not really a card player, so I just stay away from that.”
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“Times New Roman”>A faith barrier
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“Times New Roman”>The home is open to residents of all faiths, but Moore said one barrier to the Little Sisters for the black community is religion.
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“Times New Roman”>“I am Catholic, but I found out in my building that as soon as you say ‘Little Sisters of the Poor,’ a Catholic building, the people have a tendency to draw away from it,” Moore said.
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“Times New Roman”>“I always say, ‘They don’t have anything to do with religion. It’s about senior citizens getting out and having fun.’”
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“Times New Roman”>The participants of the senior program are 100 percent black.
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“Times New Roman”>It’s important for the sisters that residents feel comfortable, said Marsy Canino, social service designee, because the sisters feel that it is their home – not a nursing home.
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“Times New Roman”>The home has three components: senior apartments, independent living and nursing care, which has 67 beds. Their system is set up to become someone’s home and a permanent placement, Canino said. Medicare and health insurance don’t pay for this type of care because it’s not temporary.
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“Times New Roman”>“People don’t get better and move on,” she said.
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“Times New Roman”>To get a feel for the home, the Little Sisters offer a weeklong stay. That’s how Oralynn Allen, a home resident, first got introduced.
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“Times New Roman”>“I’d been in the hospital for three months,” Allen said. “They were fixing to discharge me, but my house has steps. I couldn’t do the steps anymore.”
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“Times New Roman”>Allen said she is kind of an independent person. Adjusting to the fact that there were some things that she couldn’t do was difficult at first.
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“Times New Roman”>“But everybody worked with me and helped me,” she said.
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“Times New Roman”>Choosing to live in a nursing home is a difficult and emotional decision for the families and residents, Canino said. She helps the residents fill out their Medicaid applications and tries to answer any questions or concerns from the families.
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“Times New Roman”>Sheryl Wilson has a philosophy – the elders should get whatever they want.
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“Times New Roman”>“They’ve worked hard, like we work,” Wilson said. “They’ve been where we’ve been. They weren’t born with silver spoons. If they want to call us maids, that’s fine because it’s time for them to live a good life to live their final days out.”
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“Times New Roman”>This is the first in a three-part series on African-American elders in St. Louis. The series is being developed through a fellowship with the New America Media Ethnic Elders program, sponsored by The Atlantic Philanthropies.
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