As of July 1, Greenwich House has taken over the operation of three senior centers of The Caring Community. The three programs are located at 20 Washington Square North; Our Lady of Pompeii Church, at Carmine and Bleecker Sts.; and at the Independence Plaza housing complex, on Greenwich St. in Tribeca.
The three centers will operate under the name of The Caring Community at Greenwich House. Greenwich House’s senior services include the Judith C. White Senior Center and the Senior Health and Consultation Center, at 27 Barrow St.
The New York Nonprofit Press reported that the New York State Health Foundation provided funding to help the two organizations implement the transfer. Moving the centers under Greenwich House will help ensure their immediate financial stability and preserve services.
“The goal has been to ensure that senior services in Greenwich Village don’t just survive, but that they thrive,” Roy Leavitt, executive director and C.E.O. of Greenwich House, told the Nonprofit Press.
Greenwich House has been evaluating different cost-saving measures in anticipation of reduced funding in the coming year. Among those being considered for the Judith C. White Senior Center was the possible change from lunches cooked at the center to catered meals. Thanks to the posthumous generosity of a former member, the White Center will continue preparing cooked meals and will not cater lunches in 2011.
Greenwich House was founded in 1902 as a nonprofit settlement house.
The Caring Community was formed 37 years ago to meet the needs of older New Yorkers residing in Greenwich Village. Services were later extended to Lower Manhattan with the opening of the Independence Plaza center.
Last month, The Villager broke the story of Greenwich House’s imminent takeover of The Caring Community, as well as Greenwich House seniors’ concerns over rumors that their cook would be phased out for catered meals.
