St. Paul Street Celebrates 30 Years

by Trevor Meek

BROOKLINE, MA — “When I first moved into this house,” Virginia Lovett began as she addressed the crowd of familiar faces assembled in her beloved home on St. Paul Street, “I remember a couple months later my mom wanted me to come home and visit. I remember telling her that it wasn’t that I didn’t want to come home and see her; it was more that I needed to stand on my own two feet.”

It was with that same fierce spirit of independence and self advocacy that a group of prospective residents and their families came together in 1987 to explore the possibility of establishing their own home in Brookline. There was already a model for them to follow, two other SHI residencies having been founded in Washington Square just a few years before. Yet having that blueprint didn’t make life any more comfortable in the earliest stages. According to Clinical Director Tom McGee, who spoke to those gathered at the May anniversary celebration, “Most of us have known each other for 32 years now. Back then the parents would all meet in the front room in dust and dirt. The residents would meet in the kitchen on buckets and planks, and that’s how it all began.” 

Of the ten residents currently living at St. Paul, six are original founders. Earlier this year the founding group lost one of their pioneering members, Gary Pappalardo, who passed away after a long illness. His co-founders and housemates hosted a memorial celebration in his honor this past June. His contributions to St. Paul will forever be honored and appreciated. 

For Cristen Maxwell, who wasn’t part of the founding group but celebrates her 21st year at St. Paul this year, moving into a well established home with ambitious and independent people much like herself was an opportunity that she couldn’t pass up. As Cristen recalls, “I lived on my own for five years and my Mom told me that there was a room opening up in this house. I knew right away. I didn’t really have to think twice about moving here because I don’t do well being on my own. Being able to have a whole built-in group of friends, and to have someone who’d already been living in the house who I’d known for a long time [her lifelong friend Virginia Lovett] made the transition that much easier. I’ve been here for 21 years—I find it hard to believe—but I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.”

Cristen’s mother Corinne expressed her appreciation for the community that the residents of St. Paul have built, “The community in this house is the way I feel the community in the world should be. Everybody getting along and taking care of each other. That’s what you all have formed— a wonderful community.”

SHI President David Wizansky was also in attendance for the celebration and addressed the residents and their families: “I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of belonging. All of us care about belonging to our families, to each other, to the neighborhood that we live in. What’s happened here is a real example of people who feel that they belong somewhere, who care about the place they belong. It’s about the people and the atmosphere, about feeling that you really are secure. A lot of young people these days don’t have a sense of belonging. There is a lot of alienation—people not feeling connected to each other. You have your own place; you have housemates; you have families. It’s to your credit that you have figured out how important belonging is in your own lives.” 

Where once the residents of St. Paul may have seen themselves as the new kids on the block as they found their footing in the earliest stages, according to Clinical Director Ted Cassely they have become the standard for a younger generation: “When I work with younger groups I always talk about the debt that they owe generations that came before them, like you guys. How all of you worked your way into being parts of the community—being accepted, living independently with disabilities. You all had to fight for that. A lot of that is a given for younger folks these days. You blazed trails that they might not understand.”

Congratulations to the residents of St. Paul Street on your amazing accomplishment, and thank you for your continued dedication and leadership.