‘We are all family here’

By Linda Reeves - The Florida Catholic Palm Beach

POMPANO BEACH | A new housing community serving underprivileged seniors in Pompano Beach officially opened April 11, 2025, with the blessing of Archbishop Thomas Wenski, and the first person to arrive for the event was also the first person who applied to live in the residence sponsored by Catholic Housing Management along with Catholic Health Services of the Archdiocese of Miami.

“I have a one-bedroom, one-bath,” said Mirelle Witting, 62, who moved into St. Joseph Manor II in November. The former floral and costume designer was left with severe injuries and disabled after a car wreck. She was unable to walk or work to pay her bills. Eventually, she began receiving eviction notices.

On a very limited income, and in need of an affordable, accessible, and safe place to live, she began to look around but rentals in the area were limited and too expensive for her small budget.

“I was attending Mass at St. Elizabeth (of Hungary Church in Pompano Beach) and the pastor began talking about St. Joseph Manor II opening up and I was the first to apply,” she said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The affordable housing community, located on 8.6 acres of land owned by the Archdiocese of Miami, features 150 one-bedroom apartments for seniors age 62 and older. The apartments are reserved for income-qualified residents who earn at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), with rents ranging from $952 to $1,558 per month.

The ribbon-cutting and blessing to mark the official grand opening of St. Joseph Manor II was well attended with an array of people, including representatives of companies and agencies that partnered to make the community possible. Juana Mejia, vice president of Housing Development and Operations of Catholic Housing Management, began the morning with a greeting and acknowledgment. Archbishop Wenski led the opening prayer and spoke a few words.

“In the early ‘60s, this land was donated to the Archdiocese of Miami,” he said. “I discovered the property. We started building St. Joseph Manor I in 2009.”

The archbishop talked about St. Joseph Haitian Mission, located on the property, which was established in 1979 to serve the Haitian community. The simple mission continues to be a bright, shining light of Catholicism on the grounds and in the area, and remains special to the archbishop, who served the mission when he was a parish priest.

The mission closed in 2009 during difficult economic times, when eight parishes and five missions merged with other parishes. St. Joseph Mission joined St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

“I said we are going to reopen the church,” said Archbishop Wenski, who was appointed archbishop in 2010, and the following year reopened and rededicated the mission where he once celebrated Mass as a young priest. The daily Creole Mass continued and today, Spanish Masses are offered to better serve the community.

Then the archbishop sprinkled holy water on the building, blessing it. A yellow ribbon was cut, marking the official opening.

Other speakers included Mary Jo Frick, president and chief executive officer of Catholic Health Services; Ralph Stone, executive director of Broward County Housing Finance Authority; LaTonya Coley-McKenly, executive director of Deerfield Beach Housing Authority; Jake Zunamon, senior vice president of development for Smith and Henzy Affordable Group; and Nicole Baldon, senior vice president of Bank of America. Dustin Dubois represented JWR Construction, where he serves as president, and Brian Herbert, president of Gallow Herbert Architects, which designed the building.

Witting was also asked to say a few words about her new apartment, which she now calls home.

“We are all family here,” said Witting. “I believe God sent me here. I thank God every day.”

Catholic Health Services/Catholic Housing Management currently sponsors 19 communities for low-income elderly residents in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The organization, along with partners Smith and Henzy Affordable Group and the Deerfield Housing Authority, celebrated the groundbreaking of the $56 million St. Joseph Manor II in 2023.

The building is fully occupied at this time, according to Linda Lamers, senior director of marketing and communications for Catholic Health Services. “There is a waiting list. The need for affordable housing in the area is great,” she said.

The Deerfield Beach Housing Authority also provides 100 project-based vouchers for the development to help keep rents affordable for seniors on fixed incomes.

St. Joseph Manor II is next door to St. Joseph Manor I, completed in 2014 and has 63 apartments. The new building features a fitness center, media room with computers, game room, community hall, librar, and outdoor sitting and walking areas.

“We provide referrals and help the residents with transportation services,” said Louseline Noel, part of the social services team at St. Joseph Manor II. “We have bingo and other games, wellness programs and art. We celebrate birthdays and have holiday parties. We want to keep our residents happy.”