On the first day of spring 2014, Patrick Williams, Resident Services Manager, invited Earlie Mitchell into his office to talk about living in Golden Rule Apartments (GRA) in Washington, DC. Mrs. Mitchell moved from Senior Harvard Towers into GRA in 1999 to be closer to her family who lives in the community. From the start, Mrs. Mitchell was very involved with the resident activities at GRA.

“I enjoy living here,” she said. “[I] enjoy the residents. We have more opportunities than before. I like to be active.”

In 2007, Mrs. Mitchell and a group of residents formed the Golden Rule Circle, a resident-led group in the building that has monthly events such as Bible Study, Game Night and Holiday Parties. Now as President of the Golden Rule Circle, she encourages other residents to participate in Columbus Property Management’s resident services programming that Patrick arranges.

Mrs. Mitchell, 76, is one of the more active participants in resident services programs. She is a regular attendee at Movie Night and Senior Café, as well as any events that appeal to adults and seniors. She is always the first resident to show up for an activity, usually at least 30 minutes ahead of the scheduled time.

In February, Mrs. Mitchell completed a 4-week Senior Computer Competency Course. Patrick arranged for an instructor to come to GRA to educate seniors on personalizing your PC; using email and the internet; creating and finding files and printing. When Patrick developed the program, he reached out to residents at one of the Senior Café events. Mrs. Mitchell and other residents signed right up, filling all seven slots up within two weeks.

“I highly enjoyed the class and never thought I would learn how to use the computer,” she said.

The week after she received her completion certificate, Mrs. Mitchell’s family bought her a personal laptop and printer, and signed her up for internet service. She sends emails, searches the internet and communicates with family with her new tools. Ms. Mitchell is already looking forward to the next computer class provided by resident services.

“I want to continue to learn different things about the computer as well as the world,” she said.

Mrs. Mitchell enjoys being out in her community. For the past 8 years, she has spent her weekdays working at a daycare. This is work that has extended from when she assisted in GRA’s on-site day care many years ago. She works 24 hours per week caring for children— feeding them, reading to them, healing them and giving them love.

“Some of the kids look for me as soon as they get there,” she said. ”I enjoy it.”

She is happy to come home in the afternoon and participate in the opportunities offered at GRA, as well as enjoy her favorite part of her apartment—the outdoor balcony.

“I like the community, she said. “[Angela Ford] is friendly, the staff as well. I live in a nice building, where I can do different things.”

Patrick is also working on classes for other residents at GRA. He offered a 3-week adult course in April focusing on
Microsoft Office, which will help residents become more marketable for employment. He is also working on a course for middle school students to learn typing, and a course for elementary school students to learn more about the computer.