photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Around two dozen residents of Babcock Place apartments and some family members gathered Thursday afternoon for a special visit from the Easter Bunny. Kirsty Feltz, the senior services administrator for the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, said events like these are helping bring more energy for the senior residents and helping them create more community at the complex.

Before a special visitor came to Lawrence’s Babcock Place Apartments on Thursday, the residents were hopping with excitement — just what Kirsty Feltz was aiming for.

Feltz, the senior services administrator for the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, was also bouncing through the halls of the apartments at 1700 Massachusetts St. as she was making the final preparations for a celebration for the residents that included a visit from the Easter Bunny. She has been in her role since October, and she told the Journal-World he has been working to create more energy and community for the seniors living with LDCHA.

As Feltz walked into the room with the Easter Bunny, around two dozen residents — some with their grandchildren in tow — smiled and cheered with excitement. It’s these kinds of events that Feltz said really aligns with her mission to make sure the senior residents still feel a keen sense of connection and community.

“(These events) help make sure our residents are thriving in place” Feltz said.

Since she began working with the LDCHA, Feltz said she has been working on creating programming for the residents that helps them feel like they are “creating their environment.” She said that some of the residents have begun creating community gardens in the apartment’s green space with the goal of growing produce they can share with other residents.

Feltz said that she began to highlight some of the residents’ artistic creations, hanging up works on the walls in the common space. That led to more people bringing her their art, and soon residents had other suggestions for how to showcase their talents. Feltz said residents began playing instruments for others in the lobby, which created “an incredible energy in the building.” She said just before the Easter Bunny event, one resident asked if she would be able to display some poems she had written for the other residents. Feltz appreciates the fact that residents feel like they are free to do things they want to do instead of feeling “policed or micromanaged.”

“They create their community,” Feltz said.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Pieces of art including oragami folds and photos on display at Babcock Place Apartments in Lawrence. Kirsty Feltz, the senior services administrator for the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, said after the apartment began featuring more residents’ artwork, it inspired others to find ways to “bring out their talents to shine.”

Gallal Obeid, the vice president of program operations for LDCHA, said that the energy around Babcock Place has seen a noticeable shift since Feltz has joined the team. He said the authority hopes that the new energy from these events can serve as a model to bring more life to their other senior living spaces.

Feltz stopped to talk with every person she saw while preparing for the Easter Bunny reveal. She also said that she was going to help them get a new pool table for their gaming room.

As the residents and their grandchildren smiled while the Easter Bunny passed out candy, Feltz said that some of the residents told her they couldn’t wait for the visit because they had never met the Easter Bunny before. She said finding ways to create that kind of giddy excitement is part of her mission so residents don’t feel like they are stuck in the apartments, but that they are thriving.

“You’re never too old to keep experiencing fun and feeling youthful,” Feltz said.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Kirsty Feltz, the senior services administrator for the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, and the Easter Bunny posing for a photo on Thursday April 2, 2026.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

The Easter Bunny handing out candy to an excited kid at Babcock Place Apartments in Lawrence on Thursday, April 2, 2026.