Donate Today or Make a pledge to support Eldercare in Northside

Ms. Velma Perry (1921-2019) was a fierce and tireless advocate for Chapel Hill-Carrboro’s Northside neighborhood, fighting over many decades for noise ordinances, conservation districts, and quality of life. Lovingly known by many as “the Mayor of Lindsay Street,” Ms. Velma lived almost all her 98 years in her home at 308 Lindsay Street.

In 2018, Ms. Velma and her family sold their family home to the Northside Landbank with the request that it one day be used as a space for affordable, neighborhood-based eldercare. Through the Northside Eldercare Initiative, we are turning Ms. Velma’s vision and neighbors’ aspirations into reality. Her former home will be transformed into a group respite space and home base for community eldercare located in the historically Black Northside neighborhood, one of the oldest and most socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods in the region. Today, it is home to dozens of seniors, aged 55-102, many living in the same home where their parents, grandparents and even great grandparents resided.

Eldercare across the Triangle is scarce, forcing many aging adults to leave their community to access care. This displacement contributes to social isolation and poor health outcomes for elders along with the fraying of many neighborhoods’ richly interconnected social fabric. The Northside Eldercare Initiative is a unique opportunity to do better for elders while preserving the character of this historic, close-knit neighborhood.

With your generous support, we can continue Ms. Velma’s fight for what is right by creating a safe and affordable respite space, nestled within the Northside neighborhood. We are asking you, our neighbors and friends, to reimagine eldercare and partner with us in this community-driven initiative that honors Ms. Velma Perry and Northside’s rich legacy of intergenerational communal support.

Checks can be mailed to: The Marian Cheek Jackson Center 512 W. Rosemary St. Chapel Hill, NC 27516. Memo line: Velma Perry Eldercare

The Velma Perry Home for Community Eldercare

Transforming 308 Lindsay Street into a respite day center in the Northside neighborhood.