Senior Residential Services provides social services to the residents of Cathedral Plaza and Luther Tower—both downtown San Diego, St John's Plaza in Lemon Grove, Escondido Apartments, Kiku Gardens in Chula Vista, and Guadalupe Plaza in City Heights. Approximately 920 residents live in these buildings.

The mission of this program is to provide services that will improve and enhance the quality of life of the seniors and disabled residing in these buildings.

What is a Service Coordinator's primary responsibility?

The coordinator is responsible for assuring that elderly residents, especially those who are frail or at risk, and those non-elderly residents with disabilities are linked to the specific supportive services they need to continue living independently in the buildings.

What is the Pastoral Associate's primary responsibility?

The pastoral Associate coordinates pastoral care for the residents according to their needs, provides speakers on religious topics, and visits residents who go to hospitals and rehabilitative facilities.

What services are available?

• Helping fill out Medicare/MediCAL/Social Security forms
• Resolving unpaid medical and other bills
• Reading and understanding mail
• Resolving conflict with neighbors
• Referring residents to services such as:
  • Homemaking
  • Transportation
  • Doctor appointments
  • Health care professionals
  • Durable medical equipment
  • Mental health

What programs can a resident look forward to?

• The Taxi Scrip program allows residents at Cathedral Plaza, Luther Tower, Guadalupe Plaza, and St. John's Plaza to purchase taxi scrip at a discounted price of $12.00 for a taxi scrip book worth $20.00. This program is sponsored in part by the County Employees Charitable Organization grant and Transportation Network.

• Wellness presentations include speakers from the community who share information about stroke, diabetes, personal safety, volunteerism and community resources.

• Residents participate in monthly birthday socials, donut socials, weekly exercise classes, movie nights, holiday parties and bingo.

Who lives in these buildings?

• Most residents rely solely on Social Security and/or Supplemental Security Income to pay for rent, food and other basic needs.

• Over 65% of the residents are between the ages of 62 and 80.

• Most have MediCAL and Medicare which helps pay for healthcare needs.

How can I apply to live in these buildings?

You may call the manager of the building you are interested in. The telephone numbers of the on-site managers are listed below. All of the buildings have waitlists. To find out how long the waitlist is and/or for more information about the application process, call:

Cathedral Plaza 1551 Third Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 619 234-0093	Luther Tower 1455 2nd Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 619 234-1272	Guadalupe Plaza 4142 42nd Avenue San Diego, CA 92105 619 584-2414
St John's Plaza 8150 Broadway Lemon Grove, CA 91945 619 466-5354	Escondido Apartments 500 N Midway Drive Escondido, CA 92027 760 747-4509	Kiku Gardens 1260 Third Avenue Chula Vista, CA 91911 619 422-4951

Helpful Links

• AARP
• Aging and Independent Services—County of San Diego
• US Department of Housing and Urban Development

Read Jane's Story...

Shortly after high school, Jane joined the convent. She never became a nun because she met a man that she fell in love with and agreed to marry him. Before they were married, he left for the war. Sadly, he died before they were able to marry. Jane remained single and lived a simple life. She worked in a store called Woolworth's: a popular store before the Walmarts and Targets arrived.

She saved her retirement money from Woolworth's and bought only necessities such as food and medication. She watched TV from a 13-inch black and white set. She saved about $60,000, which made her ineligible for MediCAL.

Jane moved into the Cathedral Plaza 20 years ago. You may have seen Jane walking around downtown every day until February of 2006. You see, before February 2006, Jane was an independent 79 year old. She wore skirts below the knee, stockings, comfortable shoes and a sweater when she went out. A sweater... even in the summer months! She had a humble smile, soft voice and wore glasses. Her hair was always in place.

In February of 2006, Jane fell and suffered from 2 compressed disks. She had a heart condition and often had low blood pressure. She went in and out of Mercy Scripps hospital and two different convalescent homes from February 2006 until October of 2006. During this time, Sharon, the Service Coordinator, would visit her and consult with the nursing staff on her multiple admissions and discharges to and from the hospitals and convalescent homes.

Jane did not have MediCAL so she paid out of pocket for her stays at the convalescent homes after she reached her Medicare limit. At one point, one of the rehab centers called Sharon and told her they needed to move Jane. She needed hospice care and was combative. This was not like Jane. Sharon went to visit Jane. Jane wanted Sharon to bring her little angel ornament and some clothing from Jane's apartment to her in the convalescent home. Jane felt she was not going to live very long.

Sharon called Jane's niece who lived in San Francisco and convinced her to visit Jane. Jane's only sister called Sharon and asked her to check on Jane and tell her how Jane was. Jane ended up back in the hospital and Sharon spoke with hospital staff and told them what Jane was like. Jane was never combative and was mostly calm. Her most difficult behavior was her anxiety. With the persistence of Sharon and of Sister Mary Gallagher, the hospital looked closely at the medications given to Jane at the convalescent home and slowly began stopping the medication. In a matter of weeks, Jane was a new woman. She was not on hospice anymore and could recognize Sharon. She asked Sharon to hold her hand. Sharon took her hand and told her that people are doing what they can for her. Jane asked for her gold angel. Sharon placed the gold angel in Jane's hand.

By October, she was ready to return to independent living. Alessandra just started as the Service Coordinator for Cathedral Plaza and learned quickly what services were available for Jane. Alessandra convinced Jane that she needed to spend money on a caregiver that would take care of her. Jane had enough money to receive care from an agency, which would give her more security than hiring an independent caregiver. Alessandra made sure that meals would be delivered, and that the caregiving agency would provide light housekeeping, bathing assistance, medication reminders, do Jane's laundry and transport and escort Jane to doctor appointments and the grocery store. Jane uses a walker now. She is so happy that she returned to Cathedral Plaza. Alessandra visits her occasionally and sees her in the lobby area. Jane tells Alessandra that she is standing taller with every month that goes by.

Take the Tour!