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After months of voting and public hearings, the new assisted living facility is coming to Buckingham County. 

Jessie Woodson-Johnson of CWJ Properties LLC requested a special use permit to own and operate an adult home/assisted living facility at 3781 Petersville Church Road in New Canton. Woodson-Johnson and her husband, Lonnie, plan to run this facility in a four-bedroom modular on the property. 

During the public hearing on Monday, Dec. 11, Donna McRae- Jones of District 2 spoke in support of the project. She applauded Woodson-Johnson and her family for having a heart for seniors and stepping up to meet this need. 

“As you know, right now in our society our seniors are our most important assets and if we don’t take care of them we have to look at the fact of who will be there to take care of us if we don’t do something now,” said McRae-Jones. 

More about the assisted living facility

The facility will house three residents at first, elderly adults who are able to feed, bathe and dress themselves. The facility will provide shelter, food, laundry services and help them with their medication. They can also provide transportation to medical appointments when needed and there will be recreational activities. 

The goal is to have a safe environment for these individuals. Woodson-Johnson has spent her time advocating for the elderly and has visited numerous homes where these individuals are living alone or with loved ones who work all day leaving them alone. With so many scammers and break-ins this facility will give them a safe place to live and help remove some of the burden from family members. 

“As you know people are living to be much older so there is going to be a need for it,” said Woodson-Johnson at the planning commission meeting. “Not everyone is qualified to be admitted to a nursing home because that is a higher level of care.” 

The plan is for the facility to grow over time as Woodson-Johnson plans to get a license with the state eventually so that they can expand and have five residents. It is expected to take around three months to get the license once they start the process. For any sort of building expansion, Woodson-Johnson will need to return to the planning commission and board of supervisors for additional approval. 

“I think it’s a good project and I hope it’s successful and I see no problem with it,” said Chairman Joe Chambers. 

The board voted unanimously and the assisted living facility will soon open for seniors in Buckingham.