March 2019 LeadingAge Catalyst
LeadingAge Catalyst | March 28, 2019 | by Tessa Atkinson-Adams
Learn more about LeadingAge's March 2019 Catalyst, The Ebby House at Juliette Fowler Communities in Dallas, TX.
March 2019 LeadingAge Catalyst
The Ebby House at Juliette Fowler Communities
Dallas, TX
Innovation in Intergenerational Programming for Underserved Populations
“There’s nothing that gives me more joy than seeing a person recognize their potential. I can say that for teammates, I can say that for these young women, and I can say that for seniors. When people are free of the limitations of thinking they can’t do something, it’s just so powerful to see that light bulb go off in them when they recognize the possibilities and they recognize their own capabilities.”
Those are the words of Nicole Gann, CEO of Juliette Fowler Communities, a senior living community in Dallas, TX. The community serves the full spectrum of needs for older adults, from independent and assisted living, to skilled nursing and affordable senior housing. However, we have chosen this member as this month’s LeadingAge Catalyst for its inspirational intergenerational program, The Ebby House.
The Ebby House, created in 2013 and 100% donor-funded, serves women aged 18-24 who have aged out of foster care and are survivors of abuse or neglect. The 2-year program provides housing on the Juliette Fowler Communities' campus, access to health care, career guidance, and much more. Through the organization’s Grandfriends program and other initiatives, the young women build relationships with the older adult residents as well.
To understand where this program came from, we have to start at the beginning.
A Storied Beginning
It all began in the 1880s, with Juliette Peak Fowler. She was born into the affluent Peak family, one of the founding families of Dallas. In her early years, she followed a traditional path, marrying and starting a family. Her path changed drastically when her husband and 2 children died when she was only 24 years old.
“What fascinates me the most about Juliette is that her response to all that tragedy was to serve,” says Gann.
While she would have been provided for by her family for the rest of her life, Fowler knew that was not the case for most widows in her community. In that time, a woman who lost her husband or father would probably become destitute. Inspired to serve, Juliette began to research and evaluate the needs of her community. She even committed herself to an asylum, that era’s option for vulnerable populations, for a month to see how those residents were being treated, and what she would want to change.
Fowler created a vision for a home that served widows and orphans. Unfortunately, before she could put her plans in motion, she died from an ill-treated ear infection. However, she left detailed instructions in her will for the home, 16 acres of land in east Dallas, and $4,500 (approximately $125,000 in today’s money). Her sister, Sarah Peak Harwood, took on the mission to make Juliette’s dream a reality.
Harwood moved forward with the plans despite major opposition from her family. In 1892, she chartered The Juliette Fowler Home for Children and the Aged, and then served as the first president until her death in 1914.
“When I tell that story, and I think of that hard-fought dream of Juliette’s, and then her sister’s perseverance to charter us, and then I sit here as the leader, it’s enough to make you go ‘Whoa!’ [...] You just are filled with this overwhelming sense that our world isn’t as different as we think it is. [...] We’re still searching for ways to serve our communities and to take care of the most vulnerable among us, and that’s our children and our elders,” says Gann.
Juliette Fowler Communities Today
The spirit of Juliette Peak Fowler continues today. While the organization primarily serves older adults, it maintains its mission to build community and connections for children, youth, and elders.
Juliette Fowler Communities provides a satellite office on its campus for Presbyterian Children’s Home and Services, which recruits, trains, and supports people coming into the foster care parents program in east Dallas. It also has a single-family home on campus for a young couple that fosters infants and young children. Through community outreach, Juliette Fowler Communities fundraises and collects donated items that support the foster families on campus and in the surrounding community.
In addition to foster care partnerships, the organization offers a 10-month residency program for ministry students, partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and hosts Art 4 the Ages and a Mommy and Me program for local moms and their preschool-aged children.
“Any opportunity we have to connect older adults and children, we do. When you come to our campus, you’re gonna see kids, seniors, and all types of animals. I don’t know where the animals came from, but they’re here,” says Gann.
And, last but not least, there is The Ebby House.
Inspiration for The Ebby House
When Gann joined the organization in 2012, it was experiencing a lull in youth services programs.
Before she joined, orphanages had been phased out, so Juliette Fowler Communities had transitioned to providing a program for at-risk youth. However, due to challenges and changes in community needs, that program sunsetted in 2008. The board needed to find a new opportunity for serving youth.
The organization began a relationship with Presbyterian Children’s Home and Services, and through it, several programs and services were established to support the foster care program. While proud and inspired by the foster care program partnerships, the board became concerned about what happened to the foster children, especially the young women, after they turned 18 and left the program.
Gann observes, “when trauma happens to any of us, it has the capacity of stunting our growth. So even though we might grow chronologically, our capacity is frozen in a time when our trauma happened and doesn’t allow us to mature.”
The reality is that many of the young women who have aged out of foster care aren’t ready to face the world and all its intricacies. Gann and the board wanted to help these underserved women begin their journeys to their best selves.
In 2013, Juliette Fowler Communities launched The Ebby House.
The Ebby House Program
In a converted old nurses’ dormitory, up to 12 young women at a time grow into their best selves every year.
The Ebby House program, in which young women can participate for up to 2 years, is designed to give them a safe environment to live in, continuity of welfare, and freedom from fear of starvation.
When a new participant moves in, the first step is to connect her with the right medical attention. The next step is getting the documentation she needs for adulthood, such as a Social Security number, driver’s license, high school diploma, and/or GED. The program also makes sure residents understand the benefits available to them as participants in the foster care system, for example, their qualification for a 4-year degree at many state universities. In addition to the basic needs, the program triages other services the young women might need or qualify for, including job training, mental health counseling, and more.
After all the necessities are addressed in the first 2-4 weeks, the program then assigns each resident a volunteer mentor and creates a tailored growth program. The growth program establishes milestones towards goals that the residents set for themselves. Common goals are to attend college or to hold down a job and self-sustain, but many of them go on to things they haven’t even dreamed of yet.
Throughout their stay, the women are required to be in school, maintain a part-time job, and regularly volunteer. The program teaches them life skills, such as how to rent an apartment, open a checking account, and buy a car.
Ebby House residents also can engage with Juliette Fowler Communities residents regularly, by living on campus together, as well as through organized programs.
The Grandfriends program organizes monthly meetings and meals where they can interact and enjoy quality time with each other. Activities at these events include drum circles, crafts, and more.
Juliette Fowler Communities also employs many of the Ebby House residents, with jobs ranging from reception to dining services. This enables the women to really become ingrained in the community and introduces them to the aging services field. Also, per their volunteer requirements, many of the residents do their service days on campus.
The program has encountered several challenges and has learned lessons. The main challenge, according to Gann, is that “Not everybody is ready for what you want to give them.” The acclimation stage for the residents can be difficult. The program has learned that it is important to connect and partner with other youth programs so that if residents are not succeeding at The Ebby House, they can recommend other options.
Despite the challenges, the accomplishments and stories of these young women have inspired the staff, board, and community. Many of the women have gone on to college, received degrees, and called the community to share and celebrate their achievements.
One young woman, who had lived at The Ebby House for about a year and had gone on to a 4-year university, called and asked, “Is it alright if I come home during spring break?” Gann reflects that “with her recognizing [Juliette Fowler Communities] as home, that’s the biggest success. That’s what you want for them, to consider us as their forever home.”
See more about The Ebby House, including a video and testimonials, at the Juliette Fowler Communities website.
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Tessa Atkinson-Adams is communications services manager for LeadingAge. Please direct your questions about the LeadingAge Catalysts program to Gene Mitchell at gmitchell@leadingage.org or 202-508-9424.