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The Washington Home Invests $432K to Launch Connected Care & Aging Network for Older Adults in Ward 1

New collaboration unites 10 community organizations to expand coordinated health, wellness, and social support for more than 9,280 older adults

WASHINGTON, DC (July 22, 2026)  – Working to enhance the resource network for older adults across the District, The Washington Home (TWH) awarded $431,931 to launch the Ward 1 Connected Care & Aging Network (C-CAN), a coordinated effort among 10 community organizations working together to improve health outcomes, strengthen social connections, and expand access to critical services for older adults.

The investment supports community-driven solutions that recognize healthy aging depends on more than medical care alone. By leveraging the strengths of each partner organization, the initiative will create a seamless network of support that reaches more than 9,280 older adults where they live.

Rather than requiring older adults to navigate multiple systems independently, the collaborative creates a more connected pathway to services – reducing barriers to care, combating social isolation, and improving quality of life for older adults and their caregivers.

“This grant reflects a bold commitment to reimagining how we support older adults across the District,” said Crystal Carr Townsend, MPA, CEO of The Washington Home. “No single organization can meet every need of an aging population. By aligning the expertise of 10 trusted community partners, we’re building an integrated network of care that expands access to healthcare, strengthens social connections, and empowers older adults to live healthier, more independent lives with dignity.”

The Ward 1 Connected Care & Aging Network (C-CAN) Collaborative is part of TWH’s redesigned FY26 grant strategy, which prioritizes collaborative solutions that improve coordination, reduce duplication of services, and create sustainable community impact. In FY26, TWH awarded more than $4.5 million to organizations serving older adults across all eight wards of the District through initiatives focused on healthcare access, social connection, workforce development, and aging in place.

Comprehensive Care Through Partnership

The Ward 1 collaborative is designed to support two critical areas to influence healthy and connected aging:

Intentional Collaboration
Coordinated referrals and integrative services for expanded access to primary and behavioral healthcare, dementia screening and support, telehealth training, and transportation.

Enhanced Programming
Strengthening of health, wellness, and social activities that increase engagement and support healthy aging.

Network Connections Drive Impact

TWH is proud to partner with these 10 organizations to deliver connected access to senior wellness centers and medical day-care centers, specialized social programming resources, healthcare screenings, behavior health support, and transportation:

    • Christ House: Provides medical respite, behavioral health and addiction support, case management, and community-based services for homeless men, reducing isolation while stabilizing their health and well-being.
    • East River Family Strengthening Collaborative (ERFSC) / Bernice Fonteneau Senior Wellness Center (BFSWC): Provides coordinated wellness and social services to reduce isolation. The Bernice Fonteneau Senior Wellness Center offers health screenings, telehealth training, and transportation to expand older adults’ access to care.
    • HelpAge USA (Friendship Bench): Provides peer-led basic cognitive support for older adults, as well as behavioral health support for caregivers, by offering safe, community-based spaces that build resilience, confidence, and emotional well-being.
    • Holistic Horsemanship Services: Provides equine-assisted learning field trips to Trillium Farm in Northern Virginia.
    • Iona Senior Services: Operates a Dementia Navigators program that ensures timely follow-up after screenings and helps families access appropriate services and maintain stability at home. It also offers caregiver respite, an information hotline, and social programming.
    • Jubilee Housing: Provides individualized service coordination, health and wellness support, food access, transportation, digital literacy, and community programming.
    • Mary’s Center: Provides access to comprehensive primary care, behavioral healthcare, and chronic disease management for older adults through its Ontario Road health center, with dental services available nearby at its Petworth Clinic.
    • Story Tapestries: Facilitates culturally responsive, art-based workshops at Jubilee Housing that support memory, mental health, and social connection among older adults in permanent supportive housing.
    • Vida Senior Centers: Provides transportation to events to reduce social isolation and operates the culturally responsive Mano Amiga program. It also offers outreach, case management, daily meals, home visits, and digital literacy support for primarily Spanish-speaking older adults.
    • WildTech: Provides basic digital literacy training, device access, virtual learning opportunities, and technical support to help reduce social isolation.

“Equitable aging begins with recognizing and responding to the unique experiences, cultures, and languages of the communities we serve,” said Dr. María Teresa McPhail, President & CEO of Vida Senior Centers. “As a collaborative that includes organizations specializing in culturally and linguistically responsive services for Hispanic older adults and other diverse communities, we are creating pathways to care that are welcoming, accessible, and rooted in trust. Together, we are ensuring that every older adult – regardless of their background – has the opportunity to thrive while remaining connected to their community.”

About The Washington Home

The Washington Home is a private foundation that provides funding to entities that create and deliver innovative, compassionate, and well-managed programs to improve the quality of life for elderly and/or terminally ill residents in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Founded in 1888, The Washington Home, until recently, provided long-term care to residents of its nursing home facility in upper Northwest Washington, DC, hospice care to patients in their own homes, and care in the in-patient hospice wing of the nursing home.

In recent years, the Board of Directors of The Washington Home directed a repositioning of the organization by ceasing hands-on care and consolidating its financial resources to be deployed for maximum impact in accordance with its longstanding mission. Learn more at www.TheWashingtonHome.org.