The Thome Aging Well Program today awarded $6 million to Maryland and Michigan nonprofits to support aging-in-place initiatives. Twenty-two organizations — 10 in Maryland and 12 in Michigan — make up the second round of the Scale What’s Working program.
The grants, ranging from $94,625 up to $350,000, will help these organizations expand aging-in-place initiatives with a track record of success to more than 6,000 older adults. Funded by the Edward N. and Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation, Bank of America trustee, this four-year, $19 million program will help older adults living in affordable communities to age safely and securely at home.
More than 100 applications were submitted for the grants, signifying the great demand for funding to enhance and expand proven programs in senior communities.
"There is a deep need for continued support of organizations that serve the growing population of older adults who want to age in their homes and communities,” said Stephany De Scisciolo, VP, Impact, Evaluation, and Population Health at Enterprise. “For this round of grants, we built on our previous success and extended the grant opportunity to any organization providing home-based services, including those who help older adults modify their homes to make it easier for them to continue to age in place.”
Improving Healthy Aging for Older Adults
The programs focus on improving older adults’ physical, mental, and financial health, supporting their productive aging, emotional well-being, and social engagement, as well as making improvements to the built environment that enhance their physical safety.
Grant recipients are:
Maryland
- Ascension St. Agnes of Baltimore to provide chaperones to aid community members in accessing the healthcare that they need
- Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland of Silver Spring to enroll 15 families in a repair and accessibility modification program
- Habitat for Humanity of Wicomico County to serve 35 older adult households with aging-in-place modifications.
- Leading Age Maryland of Sykesville to promote well-being for older adults in affordable senior housing in Baltimore and surrounding areas by scaling a training program for site staff
- Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service of Baltimore to support financial health by providing 370 older adults who have low incomes with the legal ownership and estate planning documents needed to preserve and pass on wealth in historically disinvested neighborhoods in Baltimore and on the Eastern Shore
- National Hispanic Council on Aging Housing of the District of Columbia to promote productive aging by connecting older Latinx adults with health and wellness services and community resources in Silver Spring
- ReBUILD Metro of Baltimore to empower older African American homeowners in East Baltimore’s Johnston Square neighborhood to make long-deferred home repairs
- The Arc Prince George’s County of Largo to modernize six existing group homes for older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities
- The Iris Music Project of Columbia to encourage social engagement through interactive music programs for 840 older adults in Baltimore-area affordable housing communities
- Upper Shore Aging of Chestertown to launch the National Diabetes Prevention Program and use that screening and outreach as a catalyst for engaging and re-engaging seniors in the available Senior Centers.
Michigan
- Alzheimer’s Association Michigan Chapter of Detroit to increase awareness and knowledge of Alzheimer's disease and other dementia and to improve access to culturally tailored care and support services among members of diverse communities in Metro Detroit
- Brightmoor Alliance of Detroit to increase social engagement by completing the establishment of senior infrastructure in the Brightmoor community that is composed of and led by seniors
- Centrica Care Navigators (formerly Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan) of Kalamazoo to support emotional well-being through expanded end-of-life hospice services for older adults and families in Southwest Michigan
- Cody Rouge Community Action Alliance of Detroit to provide 16 older adults in Far West Detroit with critical home repairs
- Community Opportunity Fund of Detroit to host preventative health screenings and wrap around social programming to build a culture of health at a senior community
- Detroit Revival Engaging American Muslims (DREAM) of Detroit to provide home accessibility improvements and minor repairs to long-term homeowners who are 55 or older to promote aging in place
- Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation of Detroit to support critical home repairs for 20 to 25 older adult homeowners to allow aging in place
- Hannan Center of Detroit to expand a learning hub model that deploys social work, occupational therapy, and AmeriCorps community health workers to help older adults to age in their homes and community.
- Lori’s Hands of Detroit and Baltimore, Maryland, to increase social engagement, productive aging, emotional well-being, and physical health by pairing older adults with chronic illnesses and college student volunteers in mutually beneficial, intergenerational service-learning partnerships in Detroit and Baltimore
- Michigan LGBTQ+ Elders Network of Detroit to improve social engagement and physical health by developing and marketing a suite of training, best practices, and implementation guides to improve service delivery to older LGBTQ+ adults throughout Michigan
- PACE Southeast Michigan of Southfield to fund home improvements and repairs for a minimum of 122 older adults
- St. Patrick Senior Center of Detroit to promote successful aging using technology at a local senior health and wellness center.
Learning through Collaboratives, Technical Assistance
In addition to the grant funding, each Thome Aging Well grantee will:
- Participate in a multi-year learning collaborative comprised of other grantees from their state
- Receive technical assistance from a third-party evaluation firm
- Have the opportunity to network with funders in the field
Enterprise launched the Thome Aging Well program at the start of 2022. Over the next four years, the program will improve the health and well-being of older adults with low income by supporting organizations dedicated to:
- Helping these individuals age with dignity at home
- Incubating new and innovative programs
- Sharing knowledge across a rich partner network
The program will prioritize organizations serving communities or groups that have and are continuing to experience persistent health inequities.
Launching Innovation Grants in 2024
Conducted in multiple grant phases, the Thome Aging Well Program will both scale efforts with proven results and foster innovative approaches to the structural barriers that hinder the ability of older adults to age well while continuing to live in their homes.
A future funding round to catalyze innovation in the field is expected in 2024.
Contact Claire Louis, director, the Thome Aging Well Program, or Stephany De Scisciolo, VP, Impact, Evaluation, and Population Health, for more information.
