Pat Crowley House • Nathalie Salmon House • Blackhawk Manor

Retired Chicago Public School teacher, Helen Zabielski, lived with only the companionship of her many cats in her empty eight-unit apartment building as many repairs needed to maintain the property kept slipping away from her.  Before she knew it, Helen found herself plagued with building code violations and threatened with having a public guardian make personal decisions for her.  While running out of places to turn for help, she eventually decided that she would like to use her property to help the elderly. 

Helen decided to donate her 8-flat building in the Belmont/Cragin neighborhood to H.O.M.E.  The building is being called Blackhawk Manor, identifying the building with the park located across the street.  The newly renovated building is comprised of 6 one-bedroom and 2 two-bedroom units.  An onsite maintenance person and their family live in one of the two-bedroom units, while the rest of the building is dedicated to affordable independent living for seniors.