Thanks to local community funders, residents at The Village of St. Martha’s in Detroit have a new, handicap-accessible outdoor space that enables them to socialize in the outdoors with their loved ones! Until now, residents had only one outdoor space, which was far from the building and difficult to get to. Residents also felt isolated from the rest of the community. 

Thanks to the support of local community organizations, the residents now have a comfortable outdoor space to socialize with neighbors and family members. This is handicap-accessible and consists of a gazebo for shade and benches that are senior-friendly. One resident reported: “Walking outdoors and seeing the front of the building is a joy…It has been a blessing to me.”

The need for more outdoor space was identified in collaboration with architectural and urban planning students from the University of Michigan Health by Design class. As part of a class project, students surveyed residents to identify what community spaces are important to them, and how to design senior-friendly spaces. An overwhelming majority of the residents expressed a need for a more useable outdoor space. 

The Village of St. Martha’s and Presbyterian Villages of Michigan (PVM) wish to thank the Livonia Rotary Club for the benches and Greening of Detroit for the trees and for helping to plant them. “Many thanks go as well to The Village of St. Martha’s Board and our maintenance technician for their volunteer work in making this a reality,” said Administrator Andrea Felice.