Carmela* has called Manhattan’s Morningside Heights her home for over a decade. Though certainly the “big city,” for many of the elders living in the neighborhood, in good part thanks to LiLY’s Morningside Village program, it is a community where many know each other and stop to chat with neighbors and shopkeepers. At age 91 and with very little English in her vocabulary, Carmela managed with the help of her sister with whom she resided.
That all changed recently, when the landlord tried to evict her after her sister’s death. Fortunately for Carmela, Lifeforce in Later Years-LiLY, one of the Good People Fund’s grantees, was able to come to the rescue. Thanks to our recent grant which allowed Irene Zola, LiLY’s dynamic founder, to hire a Spanish speaking social worker, Carmela was able to prove that she has indeed resided in the apartment for the past decade and all eviction proceedings ground to a halt. Carmela’s daughter says, “I didn’t know we still have people with big hearts. You are like family. I was tormented, and my mother was in tears. Now I am consoled. We can sleep better. God bless you and everyone from LiLY!”
*a pseudonym
