The affordable housing tour was nothing I expected it to be. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect and I had no idea what the purpose of it was until we arrived at the first location. Potiker Senior Housing was the first location we visited; it was great to see that an established, good-willed organization like Serving Seniors was doing something to provide affordable housing to seniors in the local SD community. Our group was lucky enough to have an individual open up his unit for us to get a taste of what it’s like to live in one of those units—we actually sang happy birthday to him! I was nearly brought to tears seeing how grateful this man was for his unit. What struck me even harder was the Transitional Hometel; though the units at this hometel were even smaller and many didn’t have private bathrooms, the couple living in the unit we visited were very thankful for having a roof over their heads. A stark contrast to the first two facilities, the last two were very nice and felt luxurious. It was so nice, that these affordable housing facilities had our very own LCS’ers saying “I want to live HERE.”
I felt many things from this whole experience, and I reflected on my own blessings. I didn’t realize how much of a luxury a bathroom, a bed, fridge, sink, and shelter in itself is. Hearing heart-wrenching testimonies of those living at these units highlighted the need for more affordable senior housing options.
I felt many things from this whole experience, and I reflected on my own blessings. I didn’t realize how much of a luxury a bathroom, a bed, fridge, sink, and shelter in itself is. Hearing heart-wrenching testimonies of those living at these units highlighted the need for more affordable senior housing options.