gerard place
For over 100 years, St. Gerard’s Parish was the center of Buffalo’s Bailey Delavan neighborhood, where families could come together as a community. Although the final mass was held in 2008, the site’s century-long outreach to its surrounding East Buffalo community has continued.
Today, the former school, convent, and parish hall that stand in the shadow of the Roman Basilica-style church are known as Gerard Place, established in 2000 through the work of women in the Diocese of Buffalo. Their goal was to provide housing and support to help individuals and families facing homelessness rise out of poverty.
“We transition families back into the community with services wrapped around them,” says David Zapfel, Gerard Place President and CEO. “We’ve helped over 90 percent of the mothers and children we serve to successfully move to independent housing.”
Gerard Place has expanded over the last 22 years to encompass a food pantry, a health clinic for mothers and their babies, education programs and job training, and services for seniors. This growth is thanks to strategic partnerships with other community organizations and strong support from individuals and corporations across Buffalo.
“Gerard Place holds a special place in the hearts of our employees,” says Art Wingerter, President at Univera Healthcare. “Many have used their paid volunteer time off to refresh and furnish apartments for incoming residents at Gerard Place, who then keep the furnishing when they transition to places of their own.”
Recently, Univera awarded Gerard Place a Member and Community Health Improvement grant to target severe maternal morbidity and related health equity issues. Univera’s grant will support education, advocacy, mentoring, and clinical tracking of low-income moms by nurse educators.
“There are so many opportunities to raise up people’s lives and their families,” says Zapfel. “At Gerard Place, we are continuing a 100-year mission, emanating from this special site in East Buffalo, to improve the community around us and the lives of those within it.”
Learn how you can support Gerard Place at www.gerardplace.org.