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WKYC Channel 3 Live on Lakeside features Eliza Bryant Village
Eliza Bryant Village is the Senior Source of the week for WKYC Channel 3 Live on Lakeside! In a special segmented focusing on aging adults that aired on February 28, 2019, Eliza Bryant Village Board President & CEO, Danny R. Williams, JD, MNO, LNHA, was interviewed about the mission and history of the Eliza Bryant Village, our programs and services and ways for us to work together to help improve the quality of lives of aging adults in our community.
WKYC: Eliza Bryant village is the oldest operating African American-founded long-term care facility in the U.S., serving older adults in Cleveland for over 122 years. That is quite an accomplishment which is why they are our senior source of the week. Please welcome the President and C.E.O. Of Eliza Bryant village, Danny Williams, thank you for sitting down with us, good to have you. What is your mission about?
Mr. Williams: Eliza Bryant is one of Cleveland’s oldest institutions. We’ve been serving some of our most vulnerable citizens for almost 124 years, 123 years this year. Our mission is to provide quality services, outreach programs in a dignified, compassionate and secure environment for seniors.
WKYC: The history is beyond impressive, can you share with our viewers more about Eliza Bryant, who the organization was named after?
Mr. Williams: Eliza Simmons Bryant and her mother came up to Cleveland from North Carolina, migrants, in the 1850s, trying to get away from repressive activities in that part of the country for a better life in Cleveland. They got here and what they saw was that a lot of Cleveland’s elderly didn’t have access to care they needed. They said we have to do something about this. They formed what was then called The Cleveland Home for Aged Colored People incorporated in 1896. To give you perspective, that is longer than the Red Cross has been providing life-saving services in Cleveland, longer than United Way and The Cleveland Foundation have been serving so many worthy nonprofits. Eliza Bryant village was there, taking care of Cleveland’s older and vulnerable aging adults.
WKYC: Eliza Bryant village is well known for the nursing home facility, can you tell us about the services you offer?
Mr. Williams: We have several key business lines including the nursing home which provides skilled nursing care. We provide occupational physical speech therapy, as part of our broad services for seniors. And we have 149 independent living units for folks who made it a little care but can live independently. And we have another program, our Adult Day program that provides daily respite care for individuals and families that need to take care of family business and they want to place for their seniors to have enriched services.
WKYC: Talk to us about “Aging in Place”
Mr. Williams: As we get older we want to stay around surroundings that are familiar to us. Some people may need institutional care, we also have home care services that allow people to stay in their homes with some support. This allows them to stay as independent as they can.
WKYC: Tell us about the Elder Justice Center, this is new right?
Mr. Williams: We are excited about it. It’s an outgrowth of a growing issue – Elder abuse. More and more people are finding situations where they been victimized one way or another – financially, physically, emotionally. They don’t know where to go and they can’t get away. We are trying to provide temporary respite care to those folks, connecting them to supportive services and hopefully get them back in an environment where they feel safe and secure. We hope we can launch it later this year. We have funding through the attorney general’s office, the victim of crime fund (VOCA). It’s a unique service as there are very few places for seniors to go to allow them to get away from abusive environments.
Are you need of services? We’d like to hear from you!
Eliza Bryant Village
7201 Wade Park Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44103
216-361-6141