On January 29th, a groundbreaking ceremony marked the commencement of the development of the first residential hospice in Santa Maria, an affordable housing complex for low-income families and vulnerable seniors, and new housing for Sisters. All of these developments will join the existing Dignity Home Health offices and Sisters convent located in the historic hospital facility built in 1940 by the Sisters in partnership with the community of Santa Maria.
The celebration was attended by representatives of the City of Santa Maria, Marian Regional Medical Center, Dignity Home Health, Peoples Self Help Housing, the St. Francis Province, and NKT, our developer and their architects and building contractors.
We were honored with the presence of Levi Zavala and members of the Shamala band of the Chumash on whose land we have been living and working for over 80 years.
The following links are wonderful local news stories of the ceremony. The first is a recording of a TV news broadcast. The second is a newspaper article.
https://muckrack.com/broadcast/savedclips/view/hoNoira8ou
Sisters of St. Francis Breaks Ground on Housing, Hospice Project in Santa Maria