Building a Library: Nurturing a Love of Reading for Supportive Housing Residents
Managed by the Boston Housing Authority, Pasciucco Apartments in Dorchester is a Supportive Housing building for low-income older adults and individuals with disabilities. In the community room, a small shelf with a colorful assortment of books stands. The signs above read in English, Spanish, and Cape Verdean Creole:
PASCIUCCO LIBRARY / BIBLIOTECA PASCIUCCO
A library isn’t just a place to read books – for older adults, it’s a gathering space, learning resource, and connection to the greater world. We’re proud to announce the opening of the Pasciucco Library this month, helping the older adults of Pasciucco Apartments keep learning as they age in place.
Lesses Cardoso from Boston Senior Home Care joined the Pasciucco Apartments community as a Tenant Resource Counselor in 2024. Pasciucco Apartments is a supportive housing building for older adults or people with disabilities. Over time, Lesses noticed that many residents, especially those with mobility challenges or other accessibility barriers, struggled to access libraries or bookstores.
That’s when Lesses came up with the idea of building a library in the building itself.
“I decided to establish the Pasciucco Library because books are important,” Lesses says. “I had the chance to visit different Supportive Housing sites and found libraries in most of them. Then, I thought, why don’t we establish one here too?”
With a goal in mind, the next step was finding shelves and books.
That’s where Emilee Cordova, a Boston Senior Home Care intern, comes in. A Boston University student studying social work, Emilee cares deeply about equal accessibility for older adults and people with disabilities. When she began her internship in early March, the project quickly caught her attention.
Though Lesses had sourced bookshelves from fellow BSHC staff, finding books to fill them was an issue. Emilee rose to the challenge. For a month, she worked tirelessly to connect with local bookstores to see if any would be willing to donate to the new library. Her efforts finally bore fruit in early April.
Located in Roxbury, Frugal Bookstore is dedicated to promoting literacy for children, teens, and adults. It is the only Black-owned bookstore in Boston. When owners Leonard and Clarrissa heard about the project, they were excited to support older adults and build a community of learning at Pasciucco.
Frugal Bookstore offers books from a wide range of authors of color, catering to a diverse and multicultural audience. It was a perfect match for the multicultural community of Pasciucco, which included many residents of Haitian, Cape Verdean, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian backgrounds.
Lesses and Emilee interviewed residents on the types of books they would want and conveyed their wishes to Frugal Bookstores. The final collection was a mix of history, African American studies, novels, autobiographies, and poetry in a variety of languages, with something for any reader. Residents also requested children’s books—in both English and Haitian Creole—to read to visiting grandchildren.
Since the library opened, residents have been eager to read. The library has introduced them to new topics and encouraged thinking in a relaxing community environment.
“The library is taking off,” Lesses reports. “Residents and visitors are borrowing and leaving books and we’re constantly adding books to the library.”
As part of her outreach, Emilee also connected with the Boston Public Library. A week after the library’s opening, BPL staff visited Pasciucco to connect with residents and introduce them to the BPL’s network of senior resources.
How will the library grow from here? “Our goal is to spread the culture of reading within the building, and start a book reading club activity, at least once a month,” Lesses says. “We also want to make everyone to understand the importance of the library and each person’s role in preserving the library.”
“A lot of our residents are older adults or people with disabilities, and face barriers every day. It’s really hard for them to go to libraries or bookstores. We wanted to make the community room like a library so they had it accessible at their fingertips. It’s all about accessibility and advancing basic human rights—everyone wants the opportunity to read,” Emilee comments.
Reading encourages thinking and helps communities and families bond. Through Lesses and Emilee’s hard work and persistence, they set the foundations for an ever-growing fountain of knowledge right in the heart of Supportive Housing, helping older adults nurture a lifelong love of learning.