Dallas’ oldest, and possibly only, intergenerational community, Juliette Fowler Communities, is celebrating 130 years of service! JFC supporters, board members, residents, and volunteers are celebrating the momentous milestone and looking forward to even more growth on the horizon.  

Juliette Fowler Communities is a unique faith-based community of residents at various life stages. Located on 20 picturesque acres, they provide independent and assisted living, a five-star quality rated skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, memory care, and affordable senior housing.

 

Chief advancement officer and fellow East Dallas neighbor Ann McKinley shares, “JFC is composed of 150 team members and has always had tremendous support from East Dallas and the surrounding community.” She says over 2,000 volunteers help with JFC’s significant needs each year. “Even during the pandemic, volunteers were picking up grocery lists and making store runs for residents, planting flowers in the landscaping and dropping off care packages to let the seniors know they care.” A special thank you to all of our neighbors who stepped up to volunteer to help with grocery runs, etc. 

Looking ahead, Nicole Gann, JFC president and CEO, says, “Juliette Fowler Communities has an exciting fall planned in our 130th year with a monumental grand opening happening on our campus in November. 'The Peak' is a $24 million, 144-unit, affordable housing development with supportive services for the ‘forgotten-middle’ seniors — those who are unable to pay market rate for traditional senior living and yet do not qualify for low-income housing. We know that seniors want to stay in their communities, and we have had 400 interested applicants for our 144 units. This will be the largest building on our campus and the first of its kind of living community in the Dallas area!”

“Without question, this is a historic year for Juliette Fowler Communities,” says Gann. “With the opening of The Peak, JFC continues the tradition of its founder, Juliette Peak Fowler — Dallas’ first philanthropist — by seeking innovative solutions for problems in the community. We have also upheld Juliette’s original mission of caring for widows and orphans by adapting it to a modern-day version of caring for seniors through all levels of care, as well as children and youth. We care for children through foster and adoption services, youth working to escape or avoid human trafficking or exploitation and young women at risk for homelessness due to neglect, abuse or aging out of the foster care system.”

The Ebby House is one such program. Located on the grounds of the JFC campus, it is a residence for young women, ages 18-24, at risk for homelessness due to neglect, abuse and aging out of the foster care system. The Ebby House program instills life skills and provides mentoring, health care, education, career guidance and job training. McKinley explains the inspiration behind such endeavors: “We’ve always been innovative. We tend to do things designed to solve a problem in the community. That’s what Juliette did. She saw a need and said, ‘What can I do?’ She was a great model for us, always looking outward: ‘Who is not being served?’ That’s why seniors and children are served here.” And today, JFC is currently serving its third generation! McKinley shares, “We have older adults who live at JFC who grew up here as children.”

“An additional focus during our 130th year is our continued work in the area of dementia care,” adds Gann. “We know that approximately 5.5 million are living in the United States with cognitive impairment, and JFC is helping to foster Dementia Friendly Dallas, a movement for a more compassionate city. Within the vision of Dementia Friendly America, we are stepping into a more engaged community for individuals living with dementia and those who care for them. We are expanding what we do and looking at strategic partnerships that can make an impact for the greater community.” As the only certified I’m Still Here® Center for Excellence in dementia care in Dallas and one of only three in Texas, Fowler’s program employs evidence-based techniques to adapt experiences to an individual’s cognitive abilities and strengths. McKinley emphasizes the inspiration that drives JFC’s goal of defeating anti-agism and the stigma of dementia through such life-giving programs. “From diagnosis to end of life could be 20 years; that’s a lot of life!”

 

Gann concludes, “We know that we would not be celebrating 130 years without so many people consistently coming together with servants’ hearts. We invite the community to learn more about our history, mission and programs or join our One Heart Society (a membership group that supports the nonprofit’s mission through volunteerism, community awareness and fundraising) as we strive to make an impact not only by helping all age groups thrive and age successfully but also by bringing serious community issues to light.”