The Washington Home Invests $238K to Build a Senior Social Hub for Older Adults in Ward 4

New collaboration unites eight community organizations to enhance social connection programming, improve therapeutic care access, and expand cognitive health screenings for early detection and support

WASHINGTON, DC (July 14, 2026)  – Working to strengthen program support and healthcare screenings for older adults across the District, The Washington Home (TWH) has awarded $238,050 to launch the Ward 4 Senior Social Hub Collaborative, a coordinated effort among eight community organizations, to work together to reduce social isolation, improve health outcomes, and expand access to critical services for older adults.

The investment will support an integrated network of aging services organizations and community partners that will collectively serve more than 3,300 older adults through therapeutic recreational services, preventive health screenings, and social engagement opportunities for ongoing care and support.

“Integrating the delivery of healthcare screenings and social engagement programming creates an early intervention solution that supports older adults as they age,” said Crystal Carr Townsend, MPA, CEO of The Washington Home. “This collaboration helps older adults connect with localized services and supports, as well as confidently retain their independence, social engagement, and mobility in the community.”

The Ward 4 Senior Social Hub 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.

Improved Care Through Screenings & Connection

The Ward 4 collaborative is designed to address two critical factors influencing healthy aging:

Healthcare Access & Early Intervention
More than 2,900 individuals will receive preventive health screenings and support services – including cognitive and memory screenings, referral services, medical access, and daycare services.

Social Connection & Community Engagement
Approximately 375 older adults will participate in social, educational, and wellness activities that strengthen community connections while increasing awareness of available health resources and screening opportunities.

The localized, integrated screening opportunities and social activities for older adults will reduce social isolation as well as help to more quickly identify health concerns that could potentially contribute to poorer health outcomes.

Collaboration Partners Deliver Impact

TWH is proud to partner with these eight organizations to deliver the following services across the health care continuum so older adults can receive multiple points of support:

• • Brookland Senior Day Center: Provides adult day health services with social, medical, and recreational programs.
  • East Rock Creek Village: Connects members and provides information, cultural and social activities, education, services, and support to help community members confidently age in place.
  • Genevieve N. Johnson Senior Day Care Center: Provides adult day health services with social, medical, and recreational programs, as well as a music memory café and caregiver lounge programs.
  • 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.
  • Plants and Bloom Reimagined: Offers nature-based therapeutic programs that use plant and flower activities to promote social connection, mental wellness, and engagement, including pop-up Bloom Mobile events.
  • SOME: Provides permanent, affordable housing for older adults, as well as food, nutritional supplements, and medical and safety equipment to help clients age in place. Resources include health screenings, a summer camp, and other social programming.
  • Story Tapestries: Facilitates art therapy workshops at the Brookland Senior Day Center that promote communication, creativity, and emotional well-being.
  • Vida Senior Centers: Provides a gathering place for Latino seniors who may be culturally or linguistically isolated. It offers food security, health information, education, and opportunities for social interaction with other older adults, helping participants age as part of a community.

Community Health & Connection Collaborative partners celebrate TWH’s funding of its new grant initiative designed to create a more connected, coordinated approach to older adult care services in the District.

“Together, these partner organizations are creating a stronger, culturally responsive network of care that helps older adults and their caregivers access the services, connections, and resources they need to stay engaged and supported as they age in place,” said David J. Saunders, Chairman of the Genevieve N. Johnson Senior Center. “This investment allows us to reach more people, reduce barriers to care, and ensure no one has to navigate aging or cognitive changes alone.”

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.