There’s always a pot of coffee on at Porta Coeli, a Catholic Charities senior housing community in Chicago’s South Deering neighborhood. There’s often food on the stove. Site Director Regina Farris-Smith, who has worked at Porta Coeli for seven years, and her team try to keep tabs on all the residents: when they have dialysis, need a lift to a doctor’s appointment, or need help picking up a prescription.
“When I tell you I love each and every one of the people who live here, I do,” says Farris-Smith. “To be in this type of field, you have to have a caring heart. You have to have empathy.”
Now the Site Director at Catholic Charities’ Roseland Manor/All Saints Residence, Karroll McFern came back to Porta Coeli to take part in the 10-year anniversary celebration of the facility’s dedication in January. Ten years ago, she and the team helped move in 99% of Porta Coeli’ s current residents.
“We all became one big family,” she says.
Today, that caring culture continues at Porta Coeli.
“I’m proud to be here.”
Ms. Patricia Miller has lived at Porta Coeli since day one — “Actually, since the day before,” she laughs, remembering how she mistakenly showed up a day early. Miller says she had gone from apartment building to apartment building searching for a suitable, and affordable, new place to call home, before she learned through word of mouth about Porta Coeli. She was the first person to move in on her wing and has been there ever since.
“I’m proud to be here,” she says. “I do say quite often, this is our home. And it’s very important to me.”
Porta Coeli, which is Latin for “Gateway to Heaven,” was the last senior housing community that Catholic Charities opened. It serves as home to 86 seniors whose income is $39,250 or less for a single person or $44,850 or less for a couple. McFern notes that for some residents, these are the first apartments they’ve ever been able to call their own. She and Farris-Smith agree that they try not to assume anything about the people who live in the buildings they help manage — including that they have food in their apartments.
“You never know what a person is actually going through,” says Farris-Smith. “I learn so much from these individuals.”
Creating connections, building community
Regina Farris-Smith says she worried about one resident, Mr. Aden Smith, after his wife died in September 2023. The Smiths would have been married 57 years in December. Although he doesn’t say a lot about his wife or her passing, it is easy to imagine Smith’s unspoken grief. He says continuing to live at Porta Coeli helps. His daughter and grandkids visit. He has his routine, checking in on his neighbors, taking a daily constitutional, and starting every morning with a coffee with Farris-Smith.
“She makes the coffee. We have a little chat. It wakes me up,” says Smith. “It’s helpful to have that community here.”
Miller agrees that there’s something special about the Porta Coeli community and she’s especially appreciative of Community Care Coordinator Barbara McGill and the activities she puts together for residents.
“She honestly cares, it makes a difference,” Miller says.
At Porta Coeli’s 10th anniversary celebration, residents line danced, shouted out each other’s birthdays, sang along to music, and enjoyed mingling, fellowship, and plates filled with home-cooked food. There were a lot of hugs, there was a lot of laughter, and it felt a whole lot like family.
To view photos from the 10th anniversary event, visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC6erF