Elderly care nonprofit opens second location in Carrboro

All it takes is a brand new house for six elderly Orange County residents to feel young again.

Charles House Association, a nonprofit that provides constant personalized care for elderly people, opened their second home Thursday. This new home, known as Charles  House-Winmore, is located off Homestead Road in Carrboro and is the newest addition to the growing nonprofit.

The house, which included amenities like granite countertops and state-of-the-art appliances, cost the group about $500,000.

Sally Freeman , the program director for the Charles House Association,  said the group started 25 years ago with the vision of Charles Jones,  a historic civil rights leader in Chapel Hill.

Freeman said the elderly and their families enjoyed the all-day care offered by Charles House Daytime Eldercare Center.

“People loved the day care so much,” Freeman said. “We wanted a place that offered 24-hour care and that is when we started Charles House.”

Yorktown Charles House Eldercare Home was built three years ago to accommodate elderly with 24-hour care while offering a home setting.

The Winmore home was built in one year, and organizers are providing it with its final furnishings. The idea of building a second eldercare home materialized after the nonprofit saw the success of Charles House-Yorktown.

Avery Young , social media and digital marketing intern for Charles House Association, said the neighborhood setting is vital to the group’s care for its residents.

The Charles House Eldercare Homes offer residents the opportunity to socialize with others their age while maintaining the availability of 24-hour care, Young said.

“I think the elderly will embrace it,” Young said. “The people in the Charles House-Yorktown live in an actual house. It is more comfortable than clinical. It’s truly a home”.

Charles House Executive Director Paul Klever said the opening of a second elderly care home was a huge step for the nonprofit.

“There were two main reasons to build the second home on Winmore,” Klever said. “It is a part of a receptive community, and there was a vision of a developer behind it.”

Klever said he looks forward to the future of this new Charles House.

“We are thrilled to be a part of the Winmore neighborhood and look forward to the same close relationship with our new neighbors that we have found in Heritage Hill, where Charles House-Yorktown is located,” Klever said.

Eloise Allison, resident of the new Charles House-Winmore, said she was glad to be able to socialize with others her age and is ready for the new adventure.

From her room at the Winmore house, Allison would say hi to everyone who walked by and encourage them to come again to visit.

“Everyone is friendly, which helps,” Allison said as she showed off her new room. “Right now everything is wonderful. I think it will feel like home.”

city@dailytarheel.com