Member Spotlight: Emmaus Services for the Aging

We believe seniors deserve a dream, not just a memory.

Step through the doors at Emmaus Services for the Aging, a set of renovated row homes in the historic Shaw community, to see those dreams in the making.

In the second floor computer lab, seniors 60 and over are in the midst of an eight-week computer skills development course. In the first floor recreation room, they’re doing Yoga. Downstairs, at the “Feast for All Market,” they’re selecting quality, nutritious foods to supplement meals at home.

And in homes throughout Ward 2 and across the District of Columbia, seniors are receiving confidential visits from licensed social workers, home health screenings and monthly deliveries of free groceries.

Helping to create those dreams is a dedicated team of 13 staff, led by Rev. Joseph Williams, and more than 600volunteers. Together, they provided programs and services for more than 1,000 seniors in 2008–the organization’s 30th year serving the community. And as calls for safety net services increase, they’re gearing up to serve as many as 2,000 seniors this year.

The list of programs and services available to seniors through Emmaus is extensive. each—from light home cleanings,to eviction prevention, reassurance calls, blood pressure checks and emergency monetary assistance—contributes to the goal of helping seniors remain active, respected, independent and vital members of their community.

Collaborations help make it all possible.

As the DC Office of Aging’s Lead Agency for Aging Services for Ward 2, Emmaus receives all calls for senior services in the Ward. They network with other community organizations in an effort to create and maintain effective systems of care, sponsoring community planning meetings with organizations, developing and implementing structured outreach activities and maintaining a strong knowledge base of national and local aging populations, trends, needs and forecasts.

In collaboration with SeniorNet, the HFC Foundation and AT&T, Emmaus’ SeniorNet Computer lab, equipped with accessibility software, introduces seniors to computers and the Internet and helps them connect through on-line communities—decreasing isolation for those seniors who may be physically challenged.

With the Richard B. and Lynne V. Cheney Cardiovascular Institute at George Washington University, Emmaus is also helping to ensure that automated external defibrillators are available to those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest in buildings across the District.

Similar innovative collaborations are found throughout Emmaus’ work.

Behind the scenes.

In 2007, his first year as Emmaus’ executive director, Rev. Williams and the board of directors instituted a three-year strategic and resource development plan for the organization— which board members, staff and volunteers are active in implementing. Now, in year two of the plan and in the midst of current economic conditions, the team is already looking ahead toward future goals, activities to achieve them, and ways to meet an anticipated doubling of demand for services.

Opportunities like community room and library rentals as well as office subleasing in the group’s Shaw Center contribute to revenue.

Monthly reports track quantifiable objectives and outcomes for the number of volunteer hours associated with each activity, financial revenue and projections, new seniors served and the level of service used in each program area.

A Senior Advisory Council, with a 14-member board comprised entirely of seniors receiving services from Emmaus, meets monthly with program staff to provide feedback on existing programs and offer insights into new ones.

Weekly staff meetings help the team compare achievements on paper with stated objectives—and ultimately Emmaus’mission: to build trust with seniors to provide advocacy and services that help them remain active, respected, independent and vital members of their community.

Click here to learn more about Emmaus Services for the Aging and to find out what you can do to help support their mission.

This member Spotlight was originally published in the March/April 2009 Nonprofit Agenda, a bi-monthly publication of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement.

Center members, would you like to be featured in an upcoming Member Spotlight? Contact Beth Hess to learn more.

Member Spotlight: Our House

Carpenters. Beekeepers. Organic Farmers. Stewards of Sustainability.

These may not be the first words that come to mind when you think about at–risk adolescents, but they are titles that readily apply to the residents of Our House Job Training Center for Youth.

For more than 15 years, this Montgomery County nonprofit has provided a home, hands–on instruction in carpentry and other construction skills as well as academic and life skills classes to adolescent men between the ages of 16 and 21.

As a residential program, Our House provides services and support to its residents 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This intensive program isn’t for everyone, but there is a waiting list to get in.

Students spend 40 hours per week in a construction and renovation training program which provides hands–on experience in carpentry, drywall, electricity and plumbing. This work is not studied in the classroom, but rather on the job site as students renovate homes and buildings.

Weekday evenings are devoted to academic classes, life skills classes and group therapy sessions. Weekends include participation in weekly community service projects ranging from adding a wheelchair ramp to a senior citizen’s home to renovating the lower level of a local church.

But that’s not all. Our House is also home to two organic farm plots, honey bee colonies and a woodshop.

Residents may choose to tend and cultivate the farm’s organically grown crops, dividing the proceeds when goods are sold to local restaurants and residents. They may also choose to help in harvesting honey from their bee colonies,dividing proceeds from honey sales.

Running through it all is a respect for the land, people and resources. Step inside the student’s woodshop and you’ll find tables patiently crafted from salvaged wood. Duck into a small room tucked into the side of a barn to see shelves lined with ceramic vases and masks created by the students and fired in a donated kiln. Step around the side of the woodshop to see storage units constructed by the students to hold wood salvaged from a neighborhood barn awaiting its own turn in the woodshop.

A dedicated group of staff and volunteers, led by Founder and executive Director Richard Bienvenue, makes the work of Our House possible. The result: 80 percent or more of the students who complete the Our House program are employed and doing well. The recidivism rate among graduates is approximately 14 percent compared to the state of Maryland’s rate of approximately 60 percent.

Click here to learn more about Our House and to find out what you can do to help support their mission.

This member Spotlight was originally published in the November/December 2008 Nonprofit Agenda, a bi-monthly publication of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement.

Center members, would you like to be featured in an upcoming Member Spotlight? Contact Beth Hess to learn more.