Our History

Church Homes, Inc.: Pioneer in Retirement Villages since 1957

As early as the late 1940s and mid-1950s, a group of Connecticut churches discussed how to provide dignified and respectful living accommodations for men and women like themselves -- persons who had worked all their lives and were neither poor nor wealthy -- who now faced retirement. Finally, in late 1957, an idea took shape.

The Christian Activities Council of the Congregational Churches of Connecticut took the lead. A not-for-profit and nondenominational corporation was chartered, a board of directors was elected, and Church Homes, Inc. was born. Seed money from five Hartford-area churches (South, Center, Asylum Hill, Immanuel of Hartford, and First Church of West Hartford) marked the beginning of this organization, which has continued to grow through generous gifts and bequests.

Providing Assisted & Independent Living Services

The transformation of Avery Heights from a convalescent hospital to a continuing care complex for the retired did not occur in one fell swoop. It was a concept that evolved over 10 years as the interrelated needs of the elderly were recognized and acted on. It took imagination and daring, a willingness to venture into unknown areas of social service, as well as a large dose of faith.

The ability to provide a complete range of living options in a village setting -- from complete independence to intensive 24-hour-a-day nursing care -- is the concept behind the retirement communities of Avery Heights, nationally recognized for pioneering a progressive living concept more than six decades ago. Avery Heights has grown into one of the largest independent, not-for-profit, and nondenominational facilities for the elderly in New England.

Today, Avery Heights focuses on assisting each individual so that the latter years of life are spent as meaningfully as possible, with independence, dignity, and choice.