Housing, Help and Hope for Older Adults | | |
Thank You Service Coordinators
Christy's Corner
Resident Life
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A Chat with Dr. Hartmann
Staff News
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Thank You, Fellowship Square
Service Coordinators!
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It’s National Social Work Month, and at Fellowship Square, our team of service coordinators – Jane Kung, master’s level social worker (MSW); Grace Foster, bachelor’s level social worker (BSW); and Gwen Pascal-Dubuisson, MA, led by Resident Services Director Shari Carlson, MBA – serve as the crucial link between residents and community resources.
“They empower our residents to maintain and achieve the highest level of independence and to remain in the independent living apartments at Fellowship Square for as long as possible,” explained Shari. “The unsung nature of their work makes appreciation and awareness months like National Social Worker Month so important to recognize.”
Day-to-day responsibilities include one-on-one assessments with residents; linking residents to needed services; advocacy; and helping residents navigate Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and supplemental security income (SSI). Service coordinators also organize group programming around our four Areas of Wellness – intellectual, health, spiritual and social – through a holistic calendar of activities.
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Did You Know?
The American Association of Service Coordinators and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recommend one service coordinator for every 50 to 100 residents, and our three service coordinators work with over 500 residents. We wholly support the critical work our service coordinators perform, and we are committed to not only ensuring they remain in our properties, but to growing their number to ensure adequate support for our seniors, as well. Due to the uncertainty in Washington, D.C., however, our federal grants for Service Coordinators are on pause. In recognition of Social Work Month’s “Compassion + Action” 2025 theme, can we look to you to help us close the funding gap?
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This month, we’re proud to recognize our service coordinators for the daily work they do to support residents and connect them with resources in the community. We all know how daunting a task it can be to navigate state and federal benefit applications – and many seniors cannot face this challenge without someone to assist them.
As you’ll read in this issue, service coordinators assist our residents with everything from annual benefits applications, arranging for transportation to medical appointments, helping the resident contact the Social Security Administration about payments, as well as planning and coordinating monthly programs and services beneficial to residents.
Last year, the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation conducted a poll and found that most seniors struggle to understand what benefits they are entitled to and how to access them. Many government agencies that administer benefits offer access via a website and secure portal, but many Fellowship House seniors have not yet become comfortable with doing their personal business online, or they may not have the capability to navigate the online process.
Our service coordinators are the lynchpin between seniors and the resources available to them to ensure their needs are met. We’re grateful for our dedicated staff and thank them for their tireless efforts in supporting our 805 seniors.
In gratitude,
| | P.S. We’re fortunate that the drastic changes happening at the U.S. Dept of Housing and Urban Development are not yet directly impacting Fellowship Square’s ability to carry out its mission. We are watching changes at the federal level closely, however, and we know that there is uncertainty ahead – and that many organizations and individuals have been impacted. We are hopeful that the dust will settle soon, we can turn down the noise, and we can stay focused on what matters: providing housing and supportive services to seniors who struggle to make ends meet. | |
Celebrations at Largo Landing
Lynn Thomas, CEO of Community Lodgings in Alexandria, VA, and member of both the Fellowship Square and Largo Landing Boards of Directors, has lived a life of giving back. “I've always been that person who is looking out for the next person, and I live by the example that if your fist is closed, you cannot receive or give … but once your fingers are stretched wide, you can do both,” she said. “I grew up in inner-city D.C., raised by a single mom living in subsidized, multi-generational housing, but all I knew was love. I get joy out of doing for others and seeing people smile.”
Thomas carries that spirit with her to Fellowship Square, where – after turning 50 and wanting to do 50 acts of kindness – she began providing Thanksgiving meals to Largo Landing residents in 2019. Her tradition has grown to include up to 30 friends, their kids, and other supporters who prepare and serve annual Thanksgiving meals restaurant style. Buoyed by the joy she sees in the residents’ eyes every fall, she decided this year to also celebrate her birthday with a party at Largo Landing, with cake, music, gift baskets and a day of love with residents.
| | | Largo Landing residents enjoy celebrating Lynn's birthday with a meal, cake, and merriment! | | Lynn and Largo Landing Resident (NAME) | | Friends, family, and supporters volunteer with Lynn at Thanksgiving. | | A Retrospective on 50 Years at Fellowship Square | | |
Sixty-five years ago, Rev. Dr. John A. Scherzer, a pastor and member of the Lutheran Lay Fellowship of Metropolitan Washington, led the founding of Fellowship Square Foundation (FSF), in his tireless pursuit to bring together the community to support vulnerable seniors and assure they had access to safe and affordable housing. He, alongside an equally committed group of businessmen and professionals, eventually welcomed residents to the Lake Anne Fellowship House in 1971 and, just five years later, to the Lake Anne II Fellowship House in 1976. Around that time, Dr. C. David Hartmann joined the effort and served more than 50 years in a variety of roles, helping shepherd FSF through the opening of Hunters Woods (1979), Lake Ridge (1983), and Largo Landing (1984). We sat down with Dr. Hartmann for a chat about his long history with FSF.
Q: What inspired you to become so involved?
A: I was involved as a volunteer and leader in a number of church-related non-profit service organizations, and I looked around at new possibilities. I had met John Scherzer when he visited my church in Fairfax to talk about FSF and its ministry. I was impressed and after interviewing with John, I joined the FSF Corporate Membership. I soon began serving on the Board of Directors and later as John’s vice president. When John retired as Board chair, I served some years as president. Later, I spent a couple of years as secretary. While I have been “much more retired” in recent years, I still serve on the FSF Governance Committee and more recently have started serving on the Hunters Woods Elderly Development “House” Board.
I became and stayed involved, quite simply, because I thought it was worth doing. I was anxious to find an outlet where I could be useful and helpful to those who needed it.
Q: Why are properties and services like FSF needed?
A: There isn’t very much out there for the very poor, and seniors with limited means are at enormous risk. Availability of affordable housing is a critically serious problem for people of every age, but for seniors who lack financial backup or social and family support networks, it’s particularly difficult. Many of FSF’s residents could barely survive without some kind of government support, and they also need supportive services as they age and become less capable and mobile. It’s a compelling ministry that is worth our time and attention.
Eventually, more municipalities and individuals started realizing that affordable housing for seniors was a unique need, and supporting organizations like FSF needed priority attention. There are a lot of people over a lot of years who, like me, happily invested time and expertise to work through these kinds of issues and do what we can to improve seniors’ lives. Still, there is a lot more to be done.
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: We cared and we prevailed. We had some ups and downs, with some of the downs pretty significant. But we stuck with it and found ways to do things that hadn’t been done before. It’s a dream come true to see the sheer number of people working at the problem, over the course of so many years, for the simple reason that our community’s seniors need help.
Looking forward, the need for additional affordable housing is a must. But it’s more than that; there are other services needed to help the elderly and very poor, and, hopefully, more organizations are starting to look at that more systematically. We all have to keep looking for solutions and keep caring.
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Welcome, Grant Turk
Please join us in welcoming Grant Turk, staff accountant, who joined our staff after graduating from Christopher Newport University’s Luter School of Business with a BSBA degree. His coursework reflects 10+ years of personal interest and devotion to financial modeling, portfolio construction and spreadsheet capabilities, and his favorite college course – Regulation & Disclosure in Nonprofits – led him to realize he wanted to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector to assist in contributing to the public and supporting his local community. In his free time, Grant enjoys hiking, paddleboarding, spending time with animals, and grilling.
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