A long-term personal care facility in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is shutting down after nearly three decades of service, leaving dozens of vulnerable residents scrambling to find new homes.
Faith Friendship Villa in Mountville, which has provided care for over 60 low-income adults with intellectual disabilities and mental health needs, announced Monday that it will close in the coming months after years of financial struggles.
"Faith Friendship Ministries is closing the Villa because we no longer have access to the financial and systemic resources required to sustain a licensed Personal Care Home safely, compliantly and responsibly," the facility's management said in a press release.
The closure stems from multiple challenges, including COVID-19 impacts, rising operational costs, inadequate state funding, and "the significant operational and financial consequences of addressing and fully resolving a past sexual abuse crisis."
In 2022, former staff member James Zook was charged with sexually assaulting 14 residents at the Villa. He pleaded guilty in 2024 and received a prison sentence of up to 28 years.
Executive Director Tammi Morris described the decision to close as devastating but necessary. "We were forced to make it because we don't have access to the funds that we need to be sustainable over a long period of time," Morris told WGAL.
The facility's 61 current residents will be supported through individualized transition plans coordinated with care managers, families, and appropriate agencies. However, finding suitable new homes presents a significant challenge.
"Demand is high; supply is low," the ministry noted, pointing out that 569 personal care homes across Pennsylvania have closed since 2008 due to chronic underfunding.
Thomas Hipple, a vision-impaired resident, expressed concern about the future. "Many of us cannot live out on our own and do need assistance. And then what happens here is, where do they go? It's called homelessness," he said.
The facility receives approximately half its funding from financial donations, with the remainder coming from state supplements that have proven inadequate. After the 2022-2023 budget redistribution, state funding amounted to just $4.57 per resident per day.
Faith Friendship Ministries is currently raising money to fund the closure process and ensure the well-being of both residents and the facility's 27 employees during the transition.
Board member Rick Morgan described the decision as "agonizing," adding, "It has been a systemic shortfall of funds over a period of years."
Despite the grim outlook, staff members remain hopeful that community support might still save the facility. "This doesn't have to happen. We just need the right people to see and know and to care," Morris said.