Community Foundation Awards $1,550,000 in Major Senior Living Grants

As part of its Senior Living Initiative, the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County has awarded a total of $1,550,000 to three different local nonprofit organizations that support local seniors and their caregivers. The recipients are:

• REAL Services ($750,000, payable over two years): The Community Foundation’s grant will support the creation of the Care Connections Center at Milton Village. This exciting new model of care for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia includes a day center “village” that incorporates reminiscence therapy, as well as a hub of services for caregivers featuring education opportunities, respite, and other support.
• St. Joseph Health System ($500,000, payable over five years): The Community Foundation’s grant will support St. Joseph Health System’s Older Adult Community Healthworker Initiative, allowing it to broaden its base of service to include seniors who are referred by four additional agencies: HealthLinc, Indiana Health Center, Oaklawn, and REAL Services. SJHS’s Community Healthworkers visit seniors in their homes, helping them access resources that contribute to their health, safety, and independence.
• Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County ($300,000, payable over three years): The Community Foundation’s grant will support Habitat for Humanity’s Aging in Place Senior Living Initiative. This program provides home repairs and modifications that make it possible for local seniors to stay in their own homes longer. In addition, Habitat for Humanity is spearheading a new collaboration among a larger group of organizations that help seniors access related services.

The Community Foundation chose to fund all three of these efforts because each brings a unique approach to critical issues faced by local seniors.

“The three projects we’ve funded focus on areas where need is high and will only continue to grow: support for older adults with dementia and those who care for them, outreach that helps seniors manage multiple chronic conditions, and home repairs and services that allow seniors to age in place as long as possible,” says Angela Workman, the Community Foundation’s Vice President, Program. “We believe the connections made will provide benefit beyond just these projects.”

For more than 15 years, the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s Senior Living Initiative has supported high-quality programs and services that older adults need to be healthy, safe, independent, and engaged. The Community Foundation developed this particular grant opportunity in order to encourage a new level of vision, dialogue, and coordination across different sectors and providers to meet current and future needs of local seniors. Priority was given to proposals that demonstrated an understanding of the needs, leveraged existing services, and established partnerships to better serve this growing demographic.