Since 1972, the faith-based retirement community Lutheran Towers has provided older adults with affordable housing and innovative, supportive services that focus on the residents’ needs.
This year marks the community’s 50th anniversary of providing quality affordable housing to low-income older adults in Midtown. Lutheran Towers started with the vision of Reverend Dr. Robert E. Lee who was senior pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer from 1955 to1978. Lee was also among the 80 Atlanta pastors who signed the Ministers’ Manifesto in 1957. It urged peace and obedience to the law amid desegregation.
“As a resident of four years at Lutheran Towers, I can reflect on the many benefits of living here,” resident Jim B. said in an online testimonial. “The most appreciated is the fact that the senior management and staff respect ongoing research in the area of gerontology. Bottom line: the senior management has the goal to inspire a better quality of living for all residents.”
Lutheran Towers is now home to more than 200 diverse residents who want to live independently. Dedicated to serving the community, Lutheran Towers offers ten programs to reduce older adults’ food insecurity, including opening a free grocery store earlier this year. Lutheran Towers partnered with Goodr — an Atlanta-based company that focuses on reducing food waste — and transformed the idea of a traditional food pantry to open a personal grocery store for their residents.
“For a lot of people, they feel like (a traditional food pantry experience) is shameful or something they don’t want to take part in,” Lutheran Towers Director of Supportive Services, Alexandria Giles said in a press release. “And the reaction we’ve gotten from our residents with this program is that they just feel like they’re on a trip to the grocery store.”
To celebrate their 50th anniversary, Lutheran Towers will host a Community Celebration Nov. 4, and other events with the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.
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