Marijo

Everywhere you look at H.O.M.E.’s Nathalie Salmon House, you see a vibrant community.

Walk down the corridor to the Garden Room, and you might be invited to join a creative writing group or birthday party. Go up to the kitchen on the fifth floor, and someone will surely engage you in conversation at the dining table.

Wherever you turn, you will find older people, younger resident assistants, families with children, and staff — all committed to one another as an intergenerational community.

When Marijo moved to Nathalie Salmon House ten years ago, she wasn’t necessarily looking for a community. She was mostly drawn to the property’s affordability and shared meals, and the money she would have left over each month.

She found all that at Nathalie Salmon House. But she also found something even more important — friends.

“Any time you need help with something — any time at all, someone is there to help,” Marijo said of her fellow residents and staff.

Marijo embodies this spirit of generosity. When one of her friends recently hurt her leg, she took it on herself to run the friend’s errands, picking up her medications and groceries.

After running the errands, Marijo reflected on her decade at Nathalie Salmon House and the community she has helped create:

“I am very pleased to be here. I go to bed at night and feel good. I wake up in the morning and feel good.”