Charleston Place Senior Housing, Route 27, Kendall Park, will celebrate its 30th anniversary during a dinner on Oct. 2. PHOTOS BY JENNIFER AMATO To ensure that senior residents in South Brunswick receive a hot meal every day, a fundraiser will be held to benefit the congregate meal program at the Oak Woods Senior Residence and Charleston Place Senior Citizen Housing buildings.
The meal program provides dinner to residents who select it, but funding has been reduced in recent years. Therefore, on Oct. 2 at the DoubleTree Hotel in South Brunswick, residents are invited to contribute to the program.
“This is a way to get them out of their apartments. If they’re shy, they can sit at a table and make friends and get a nourishing meal,” housing board Vice President Aaron Rosloff said of the congregate meal program. “People [who have] healthy minds and healthy bodies are happier and [live] longer.”
Oak Woods Senior Residence, off Route 522, Monmouth Junction, will celebrate its 10th anniversary during a dinner on Oct. 2. As part of the South Brunswick Community Development Corp., the two independent living facilities are an integral part of the community, providing subsidized housing for low-income, disabled and/or handicapped residents.
“We try to create an atmosphere for these residents where they can age in place, rather than having them go to nursing homes where they become a number,” Rosloff said. “This way, each one has their own apartment. They cook for themselves and care for themselves, with just a little bit of help.”
Charleston Place, located on Route 27 in Kendall Park, will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year. It caters to seniors who are at least 62 years old and/or handicapped, and the disabled.
The 84 apartments house about 96 residents in separate housing units, each with 585 square feet of a bedroom, living room, dining area, kitchen, ample closet space and handicapped-equipped bathroom. Each apartment has its own outdoor access, much like a residential complex, with a resident and guest parking spot nearby.
In the main building there is a main common room, laundry machines, a kitchen area with seating, a piano, offices and individual mailboxes. Various recreational activities are provided.
Stop & Shop on Route 27 in Franklin Township provides bagels, hard rolls and bread every morning for the seniors.
“It’s been the best experience of my life,” said 20-year resident Loyd Metcalf, who has lived in Dayton since 1955. “If it hadn’t been for this place here, I would be living in a box behind CVS. … I stay where it’s warmevery night, it’s a nice place to sleep, and it’s a nice place to cook my meals. I love it here.”
A social worker is on premises, and access is available to medical professionals, transportation and shopping trips. Housekeeping is an option.
“This gets them together. They communicate with each other. They get to know their neighbors, and become their own little families within their family,” said Barbra Hartfelder, site manager for Charleston Place.
Oak Woods, located off Route 522 east in Monmouth Junction, will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. The building was initiated in 1990 by Rosloff and Bob Latimer, and was officially dedicated on Oct. 12, 2001.
Residents must be at least 62 years of age to live in the 73 535- square-foot hotel-style apartments, which each have a bedroom, bathroom, living room and full kitchen.
The building features lounge areas and a laundry room on each of the three floors, an outdoor residents’ garden where vegetables are grown, and a commercial-size kitchen, where chef Roberto Reynoso cooks the meals for the congregate meal program. The former Elijah’s Promise cook serves up a choice of chicken, beef or fish, with sides of potatoes, rice, soup or salad and a dessert each day for 30 residents of the two buildings.
Residents can also participate in activities such as a book club or trivia.
“They like living here because it’s affordable. They don’t have to rely on their children … or be a burden,” site manager Christina Agrait said.
According to Hartfelder, there is high demand for senior housing in the area, though residents can apply from anywhere across the country. She said Charleston Place has a three-and-a-half year waiting list, while Oak Woods closed its waiting list, according to Agrait, because there is a yearlong wait, according to the requirements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Hartfelder said the demand is a result of seniors having limited income but not wanting to live with their children in order to maintain some form of independence.
“This provides a lifestyle that’s many times superior to even the best nursing home,” Rosloff added, saying that two days in a nursing home costs as much as one month at an independent living facility.
The dinner on Oct. 2 will serve as an anniversary celebration for both buildings.
Furthermore, the purpose of senior housing options became even more apparent when Oak Woods residents had to be evacuated, and some were transported to Charleston Place because of power outages due to Hurricane Irene at the end of August. Cots were set up in the main room of Charleston Place, and the Marriott Renaissance Inn donated pillows, blankets and sheets for about 12 people.
“It looked like a dormitory area for the night,” Rosloff said.
In addition, on the property adjacent to Oak Woods sits the South Brunswick Citizens for Independent Living (CIL), which serves handicapped young adults.
A group of school personnel, concerned residents and parents formed a grassroots community organization in 1984 in order to assist adults with special needs to work, live and participate in their community, according to CIL’s website.
Rosloff said there were 12 acres of land left by a developer to the township, which was eventually shared by CIL and Oak Woods.
“This town is really great. It does what it can for the people. I’ve lived here for 52 years and have never regretted a day,” Rosloff said.
The senior meals fundraiser will be held at The Ballroom of the DoubleTree Hotel, 4355 Route 1 and Ridge Road, from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2. The program will include comedian Don MacArthur and vocalists Nati Rivera and Rai Muniz. Rosloff and Jack Sawinski, who was also a longtime member of both housing boards, will be honored.
For information, call 732-297- 7966.