For 25 years, St. Luke’s Home has offered an assisted living sanctuary for seniors of limited financial means in Tucson, many of whom would otherwise face food and housing insecurity.
In the face of rising costs and declining philanthropy, the nonprofit is now experiencing a $1 million budget shortfall and supporters are asking for help from the community to continue providing a safe haven for seniors.
“St. Luke’s home has always operated at a deficit and relied on philanthropy, but in the past year we have seen a significant decline in charitable giving. People are worried about money and have shifting priorities and unfortunately older adults are not sexy. We compete with children and animals and many other nonprofits in town and it is hard to plead the case for older adults ... but we have people’s lives in our hands and that makes a difference,” said Executive Director Terri Waldman.
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St. Luke’s currently houses 64 seniors. In addition to a room and utilities, it provides each resident with three meals a day, snacks, round-the-clock assistance with daily living and medication, and a wide range of enrichment activities. Resident fees are based on a sliding scale.
In 2000, in an effort to assist the most underserved seniors, St. Luke’s became a low-income tax credit property for men and women. It entered into a contract with the Department of Housing, agreeing to accept only those who were at 30 to 60 percent of median area income in Pima County, and many residents are grandfathered in to these lower rates. The median income for Pima County in 2023 was $69,929; and the median income for a single individual in the Tucson metropolitan area in 2025 is $67,200. New applicants are not covered by the state tax credit limitation, and any single individual making up to 80 percent of the median income—or $53,760—is considered low income and may be considered by St. Luke’s.
Waldman said the average resident at St. Luke’s currently pays $1,300 monthly, while the actual cost of provide housing, utilities and services to each resident has ballooned to $3,300 monthly. Rising inflation and increasing costs for the 25-member staff have contributed to the gap.
“We are known in the community as a place that serves people who are extremely low income. We have some people here paying $700 or $800 a month ... they can’t get the services we offer anywhere else for that amount and we want to continue to be able to offer that,” Waldman said.
St. Luke’s mission is vital to the community, according to Martha Gerganoff, president of the board of directors. She said that contacts at the Arizona Department of Health Services and other referral agencies have said they would be unsure about where to direct low-income seniors in need if St. Luke’s were not available.
“St. Luke’s mission is easy to fall in love with. When we drive the streets we see people who can’t find affordable housing. About 20 percent of the unhoused population in Tucson is over the age of 65. I can’t imagine being in a living situation that could include being on the street at 65 and how frightening that would be. That number goes up to 28 percent at age 55, which is almost one in three of the people who are unhoused ... each of these are someone’s mother or father or sister or brother, and St. Luke’s is a critical piece of affordable housing in Tucson,” Gerganoff said.
She emphasized that the residents at St. Luke’s are responsible people whose retirement income hasn’t kept pace with the current costs associated with assisted living. Many may not have had opportunities to invest in 401Ks or pensions and depend only on minimal income from Social Security.
“These are people who may have worked hard their entire lives yet find themselves without a sustainable retirement income in today’s world,” Gerganoff said.
The 108-year-old facility near the University of Arizona has become a comfortable, safe home for these seniors. Originally a tuberculosis sanatorium for veterans, St. Luke’s served as a school for Native American children and a home for indigent elderly women prior to transitioning into an assisted living facility.
The facility was long supported by the volunteer St. Luke’s Board of Visitors, renowned for staging a signature annual fiesta fundraiser, “Baile de las Flores.” The Baile, which was known as Tucson’s first fundraiser, celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 2018 and then the Board of Visitors disbanded. Since then, fundraising has scaled back considerably.
“Philanthropy has changed. It is not as easy to look for donor dollars as it was a few years ago. We are looking at some changes in operations and our model, but the fact is we needed to put a plea out to people who have been supportive to St. Luke’s in the past and say, ‘It is a critical time.’ Until we can get over this operation recovery plan hurdle, we need some help to bridge operating cost gaps and get us through this tough time,” Gerganoff said.
To help bridge the $1 million budget shortfall, St. Luke’s is exploring various options, including providing services to more residents. The facility is licensed for 80 residents and a number of rooms are suitable for double occupancy, so this may be utilized going forward.
Additionally, Waldman hopes that the ask she has put forward for donor support will help carry St. Luke’s into the next year.
She is gratified by the community response to her “S.O.S” to date and believes that Tucson understands the value of St. Luke’s.
“St. Luke’s is a community. People rely on each other and some have lived here for 15 years. They are like family and our goal is to help offer them the highest quality of life. Everyone deserves that, even if they don’t have the money,” Waldman said.
