More than 100 people attended a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the founding of Luther House at St. Michael Lutheran Church in Unionville on Sunday, Nov. 5.  Luther House is a four-building campus in Jennersville that provides affordable housing for low-income seniors. It is located on 18 acres and was constructed with funds primarily provided by the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) under its HUD 202-Sec 3 Program, beginning in 1998.  The first residents moved into Luther House I in 2001. This was followed by the submission and approval of additional grants that supported the construction and occupancy of Luther House II (2002), Luther House III (2006) and Luther House IV (2009).

Luther House was founded by a volunteer organization from St. Michael that formed the Lutheran Senior Services of Southern Chester County to construct affordable senior housing in the county. 

The founders included Lou Wonderly (grant writing), Marilyn Forney (HUD expertise and contacts), Art Knechtel (finance), Bob Mattson (operations), Darwin Wika (building construction) and Lou Minella (legal).  

Luther House services include not only housing, but food, healthcare, financial and even pet care services.  Over the last 25 years, over 800 qualified individuals have benefitted from its resources.  Currently, almost 275 seniors reside at Luther House, with a waiting list for apartment availability of over 100.

For more information about Luther House, please contact Ms. Diana Seip, the director, at [email protected].

Photo courtesy of lutherhousepa.org