NEW HAVEN – The Towers, a residence for senior adults in New Haven, recently received two prestigious awards for its leadership in the field of aging services.

In October, Gustave Keach-Longo received the Carol Rosenwald “Spirit of Advocacy” award, presented by the State of Connecticut Long Term Care Ombudsman Program at the Voices Forum. Named in honor of Carol Rosenwald, who advocated for systems and legislative change as the founder of the Statewide Coalition of Resident Councils, the award is presented to individuals and organizations who work to improve the quality of care and quality of life for individuals residing in long-term care settings.

Keach-Longo’s career began in the 1980s when, as a porter in a long-term care facility in Connecticut, he witnessed senior adults struggling to maintain their sense of self in an institutional setting and set out to determine how long term care could better focus on a senior’s individual needs. He proceeded to investigate and examine other models being put into motion around the country. In 2004, he implemented certain aspects of the models he studied when he was recruited to start up Connecticut’s first urban-built assisted living facility, The Retreat in Hartford. The Retreat concept was a model based upon work pioneered by The Towers in the 1990s. The Towers was the first affordable housing community to embrace on-site assisted living services. Today, thanks to the leadership of The Towers, including Keach-Longo and others, more andmore Connecticut seniors are remaining at home with community-based support services, rather than residing in Connecticut nursing facilities.

In addition to Keach-Longo’s award, The Towers is also the recent recipient the 2018 LeadingAge Connecticut Media Award, presented to an individual or organization in recognition of their excellence in reporting or presentation of media events which positively affect older adults. In partnership with WTNH Channel 8, The Towers developed 12 segments highlighting its past and its future.