Our community of supporters gathered at Vineyard Central Church for an afternoon of moving speakers, songs from Muse choir, prayers of thanksgiving, and oohs, ahhs and applause after all the hard work of renovation was completed on the new affordable housing building. Lydia’s House gathered together former guests, elected officials, clergy, donors, volunteers and neighbors and proudly unveiled the new Virginia Coffey Place, named for activist and educator Virginia Coffey. Supporters toured apartment units fully furnished and brightly decorated and saw “before” pictures of the dilapidated decayed interiors that a dedicated crew and volunteers have skillfully transformed into welcoming homes for single mother families.
The event drew quite a crowd! With enough people to cover the front piazza of Vineyard Central Church, we sang This Little Light of Mine led by Muse choir. Meanwhile, former Lydia’s House guests and Meridith and Mary Ellen went across the street and ceremonially opened the doors to the the apartments to cheers and applause from the crowd.
After the past year of planning, cleaning, and building tirelessly to make this dream a reality, it was a beautiful thing to see so many happy faces in attendance and supportive of this work.
We know that many were unable to attend our Sunday celebration of our new affordable housing project, but we’d love for you to see it. In order to give more people an opportunity to see the completed building, we’ll be holding a small open house on Tuesday March 26 at 9am. We’ll meet at the building for a tour (4502 Carter Ave) and then have a question and answer session with breakfast at the Sugar Bush Café across the street.