We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jan House Teressa Gordon . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jan House below.
Jan House, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
In 2018, calls were being received from seniors looking for ways to help overcome an array of things including loneliness, anxiety, financial, spiritual, mental and physical abuse and more. After much research, we quickly realized that unless a person was directly connected to a group, organization or individual, their opportunity to get involved was limited.
Thus! the lightbulb went off and Seniors Aging Gracefully was born! The objective of the organization was to serve as a catalyst within the community for ALL seniors, age 55 plus, regardless of residency, color, religion, ethnic origin or barriers. Our goal was to create an organization to assist and empower ALL seniors to become fully contributing, well-adjusted members within the community through educational and cultural programs, advocacy, social services and collaborative partnerships. Our ultimate goal is to ensure the aging population is treated with dignity and respect, promote their well being and help improve their quality of life.
The first launch was held at Jordan Newby Library in 2018 with approximately 20 plus persons in attendance. Within thirty days, the attendance grew to over fifty persons which prompted the organization to find a new location. In November 2018, the program relocated to the Lamberts Point Recreation Center where we remained until the pandemic forced us to cease in person gatherings until May 2022. However, while at Lamberts Point, the program was held for four hours and offered meals, cultural and educational programs, outings, workshops, groceries, clothing and more to 80-100 seniors on a weekly basis.
Throughout the research, we also realized seniors are many times a targeted and vulnerable population, Many experience a plethora of being misunderstood, taken for granted, negativity and mistreatment—some due to their family dynamics, economic status, health and wellness status, education level, inability to understand and comprehend legal or financial situations, poverty, food insecurity and more.
During the pandemic, calls were coming in weekly requesting the program to start back meeting in person. However, due to the seriousness of the pandemic crisis, the program did not start back until May 2022. Due to gratitude from the leadership at Gethsemane Community Fellowship Baptist Church, they understood the relevance of the program and how well it was received throughout the entire community and graciously opened their doors to serve as the new location host. To our amazement, 90% of the former participants returned on the first day. The emotions were high and the program has successfully continued with an attendance of 40-50 twice monthly along with a community breakfast fellowship for 60-70 monthly at Mt. Gilead Family Life Center. In the rebuilding and restructuring of the program, amazing collaborative partnerships has been created including one with Tidewater Arts Outreach in which the seniors are privy to explore their artistic creativity monthly, Along with the creation of our Seniors Wellness and Activity Group (S.W.A.G.) w/SAG health, wellness and nutrition program monthly, the seniors participate in structured programs to enhance and improve their overall mental and physical health.
Seniors Aging Gracefully organization continue to serve as a catalyst within the community by ensuring the seniors feel worthy, appreciated and respected—a real loving family atmosphere continue to exist every time the seniors gather. When you are a part of the SAG family, you are “building legacies and creating memories!”
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
After much research, it became apparent quickly that unless seniors were directly connected to an organization, group or individual, their chances of finding ways to alleviate depression, loneliness, depression and anxiety were slim. What sets Seniors Aging Gracefully apart from many other organizations with a mission to serve seniors is the fact that each team member is authentic, genuine and possess a servant’s heart and willingness to advocate on behalf of seniors.
The Seniors Aging Gracefully organization participants meet every first and third Tuesday at Gethsemane Community Fellowship Church. On an average, 40-50 participants are present at each gathering. As the leaders seek to build legacies and create memories, at least ten volunteers work hand in hand with the guests to coordinate a plethora of programs. Some of the interactive hands on offerings include: creative expression arts and craft projects, create unique terrariums, theatre and improvisations, line dance, yoga, karaoke, salsa dancing, jazzercise, chair Zumba, computer classes and more.
To maintain comraderie and cohesiveness, the bi-monthly program offerings at the church are divided into two core areas: hands on interaction and educational/cultural workshops and speakers. It was discovered that many seniors needed advocates to act on their behalf due to their lack of level of education, technical knowledge, comprehension level or ability to fully understand legalities, family concerns, food insecurity issues, inability or knowledge on how to surf the web, financial and/or insurance terminology or needs.
One of the problems identified was because seniors were vulnerable and lonely, the scammers were in full effect seeking to take advantage of their lack of knowledge or vulnerability. Thus, workshops and informational sessions are constantly being developed to educate them on topics including, but not limited to, nutrition, fitness, health and wellness, fire safety, know the law, elderly abuse, security, know your rights, scams and frauds and more.
As the team strives to assist and empower persons 55 and better, to become fully contributing, well adjusted members within the community through education, advocacy, social services and collaborative partnerships, the “soft glove” approach is used, In retrospect, the team work diligently with the seniors to solve problems from A-Z by providing community-based outreach and education, assistance with public benefits process to assist in achieving economic stability, assist under-insured or uninsured seniors with research, qualification requirements and enrollment in programs in which they may qualify.
The two programs/initiatives in which we are most proud of is our Seniors Sowing Seeds Intergenerational Mentorship Program in official partnership with Norfolk Public Schools. and the SAGTASTIC Community Fellowship Breakfast. The mentorship program is designed to provide a mutual benefit to elementary school aged children in the Hampton Roads community. The volunteers serve as supportive role models, provide mentoring, reading support/literacy, The program also serves as an opportunity to engage seniors as resources to address the challenges faced by the children. A criminal background check is required for all volunteers. Due to the vast need in the public schools, we are constantly seeking volunteers to serve as supportive role models, provide mentoring and serve as chaperones, offer reading/math/literacy support, provide guidance, motivation and emotional support to the children and support the mentee’s growth and development.
The SAGTASTIC Community Fellowship Breakfast’s purpose is for seniors and their caregivers to meet on a monthly or quarterly basis for fellowship, fun, food and games. The breakfast is open to all seniors regardless of residency or other barriers. The average attendance remains steady at 50 or more on a consistent basis.
Seniors Aging Gracefully would not be as successful without direct support from our biggest collaborative partner, Anthemn Healthkeepers. A representative attend
each program wherein they share insurance information, explain medical program options/comparisons, enroll interested persons in the plan of their choice and distribute resources and promotionals.
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
Teressa Gordon aka my sister is the Co-Founder/Business Partner. Due to her 12 years of experience in working with seniors at an independent living facility, she possesses the professionalism and expertise needed in helping to brand the organization.
A few of her roles consist of facilitating meetings, recruiting volunteers, soliciting qualified Board Members, team building and giving presentations to community and faith-based organizations on the mission and purpose of Seniors Aging Gracefully.
Because of her genuine love for seniors, she promotes the mission, maintains daily logs and stats on program grows and glows along with coordinating the monthly/quarterly SAGTASTIC Community Breakfast Fellowship. Her leadership skills are impeccable when building teams to assist with fellowships and recruitment. Her motto is: ‘It’s Going To Be a SAGTASTIC Day!” and the participants love it! She continues to build a strong team of volunteers and maintains an open line of communication with other nonprofits, individuals and businesses.
As a visionary, she constantly seek ways to enhance programs and expand program offerings. One of the latest initiatives, Seniors Wellness and Activity Group (S.W.A.G.) W/S.A.G. is a health, wellness and nutrition program offered on a monthly basis at a local facility. One of the dedicated volunteer Ambassadors oversee the program in collaboration with another non-profit organization and the participation numbers are steadily rising. Teressa maintains the database and stats for the wellness program and continues to keep the lines of communication open and viable.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When the organization began in 2018, we met in a location wherein approximately 20 persons where in attendance. However, the attendance quickly grew to 80-100 persons in a matter of 1-2 months. Due to space and possible fire code violations, and the fact that we met weekly, we had to secure another location in a matter of days. As faith would have it, we were successful in relocating to another facility in the City and the program continued to go extremely well.
However, after about a year, the facility management changed and the team was told that Seniors Aging Gracefully were not “authorized to maintain program supplies and tools in the storage room nor building as previously granted by past management” . The directive was then given for the senior citizens to physically remove everything within the next 24-48 hours and vacate the storage room but permission was granted for continued use of the facility. A prominent, well known leader heard of the organization’s plight and immediately opened the doors to his facility for usage of storage rooms based on the organization’s reputation and benefits to the seniors. However, because the seniors had to physically transport supplies and program tools to and from two facilities weekly, this created a hardship due to the ages of the volunteers but it also illustrated resilience and stamina. The team’s attitude was “the show will continue to go on because it was all about improving the quality of life for seniors.”
The program continued to grow and then came the pandemic! Management shut the doors of the facility for in person meetings, however, the team continued to communicate virtually with the seniors. The organization then reverted to delivering home cooked meals and groceries door to door to the seniors. However, the seniors continued to yearn for the program to reconvene because they missed the social interaction. Seniors Aging Gracefully leadership shared with them our love and concern for them and the fact that the vulnerability of their health and safety was at stake. In May 2022, a decision was made to relaunch the in person program and Gethsemane Community Fellowship Church opened their doors as our new location sponsor. Thus–the rest is history! The program is back on track, we’ve acquired new collaborative partners, the seniors are ecstatic–our resilience paid off and the program is amazing and growing. The good news is 90%of the previous attendees returned!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.saghr.org/
- Instagram: sagseniorgroup
- Facebook: @sagseniorgroup