“Christopher Community gave me the chance to be me.”  

Bonnie East
Villa Scalabrini

Bonnie East has called Villa Scalabrini home for 20 years. Her apartment is close to everything — a detail that matters more each year, since she no longer has the use of her legs.

Bonnie’s story begins with loss. Her parents were Amish and were shunned by their community after leaving in 1928, so she grew up without extended family. Later in life, she lost both of her daughters in a car accident.

Before moving to Villa Scalabrini, Bonnie lived in a house owned by her friend’s father. When he decided to sell the property, he helped connect her to senior housing, calling in a favor with a friend at HUD to get her placed within two weeks.  

For Bonnie, the years at Villa Scalabrini have been shaped most by the people who worked there.

Despite the challenges of aging and losing mobility, Bonnie holds onto gratitude — for being alive, for the friendships she’s built over two decades, and for the people who helped her get here in the first place. “

Christopher Community gave me the chance to be me,” she says.