Episcopal Community Services

Amanda’s house is full of photographs. They span generations. There’s the grainy black and white photo of her late husband Johnnie. He’s holding their infant daughter over his head in front of their old row house on North Philly. A portrait of Amanda’s own mother watches from the mantle.

The light is better in the glassed-in porch. That’s where you’ll find pictures of children, grandchildren, and a brand-new great grandson.

“They tell me I shouldn’t be here alone, but I love it here,” says Amanda. “I guess it’s because I’ve stayed here longer than I’ve stayed any other place.”

It’s 40 years, in fact, that she’s lived in her house in the West Oak Lane section of Philadelphia, with its postage-stamp front lawn and tree-lined street.

“Everything always ran real smooth,” she remembers. “My kids were good to me. My son lives a few blocks away. He just retired, so he stops by every day.”

Without ECS Home Care, Amanda might have been in a nursing home for several years by now.  ECS coordinated the installation of a stair-climber. Twice a week, her home health aide, Hattie, shops for groceries, cleans the house, does the laundry, sorts the bills from the junk mail, and helps Amanda with personal care.

“With this arthritis, I can’t get around like I really want to. Without Hattie, I’d be in bad shape,” says Amanda.

Often, living at home allows an elderly or disabled person maintain connections to friends and family that might be strained by either a nursing home placement or a continuing burden of care.

One out of five seniors in Philadelphia lives in poverty, leaving long-term care at quality nursing homes out of reach and making the extra years ECS home care can allow them to live safely at home all the more valuable.

Over 80% of seniors report a strong preference to remain in their own homes as long as possible. Every year, ECS Home Care helps about 150 of our neighbors do just that.