By Jack Cumming

Senior housing has become a business, which makes it easy to forget its beginnings in grassroots efforts by communities of faith and other affinities to support their aging members through the vicissitudes of old age. Today, we think in terms of planning, market assessment, financing, development, fill-up, operations, and expansion. Then the focus was on faith, and it still is in a surprising number of age-supportive communities in the United States.

Faith Focus

This was brought to my attention recently by a panel that I shared with J. Hunter Moore, an outstanding senior housing administrator whose service has been to Christian communities. Until recently, Hunter, as he likes to be called, was CEO of The Redwoods in Mill Valley, California. The Redwoods took shape when members of the Mill Valley Community Church dreamt of a retirement center that would serve moderate- and low-income seniors who wanted to stay in the community.

That’s not uncommon. Carlsbad by the Sea Retirement Community, where I live, began as a faith journey. It wasn’t always evident that it would be feasible or that it would continue as the community it is today. It was a communal undertaking led by Pastor Dr. M.N. Ylvisaker of the original College Lutheran Church in San Diego. Today, it is a part of Front Porch Communities and Services, but much prayer and Lutheran conviction went into its formation.

Hunter has now moved on to be the Interim CEO of Swiss Village Retirement Community in Berne, IN. It has a fascinating background and a continuing faith commitment. The Community describes its mission as “providing affordable retirement living facilities in a Christian environment with services that enhance life with dignity, meaning, and appropriate care …” It is a labor of love, faith, and perseverance. Addressing financial challenges leads to community-wide conversations that trend toward practical answers to difficult dilemmas.

A Tough History

Berne, IN, home to Swiss Village, was established in 1852 by Mennonite immigrants from Switzerland. They named the community after Bern, the capital of their home country. As Anabaptists, Mennonites practiced adult baptism, refused military service, would not swear oaths, nor recognize the state church. This led to Täuferjäger, Baptist hunters, who pursued Mennonites in the Canton of Bern. In November 2017, the Canton apologized, but history has given us Berne, IN, and the Swiss Village Retirement Community.

That brings me to Kirkland A. Mason, who recently left a gentle comment on an article I had written. Mr. Mason is CEO at Stones River Manor, Inc. in Murfreesboro, TN. The Manor is a Christian not-for-profit senior living community and is the only faith-based, nonprofit home for the elderly in Rutherford County. Mr. Mason has served this ministry for as long as I’ve been a CCRC resident. He took on responsibility at Stones River Manor in September 2006, and I moved into a California CCRC in November of that year.

Monthly Confabs

As Hunter does, Kirk Mason values residents and meets monthly with them in an open “no holds barred” session. This is consistent with many of these grassroots faith-based communities. Mr. Mason writes, “I believe we can honestly say that Stones River Manor is a better place as a result of these monthly sessions and the time we spend just listening to our residents. So, when we say that it’s our residents that make the Manor a special place, it’s not just talk; it’s the truth.”

We should quickly add that not all faith-built homes are Christian. I served on a board with Molly Forrest while she was CEO of Jewish Homes of Los Angeles, now renamed Los Angeles Jewish Health. She’s one of the few industry leaders to become a resident of the CCRC she helped bring to life. As best I can tell, she still lives there, though the not-for-profit Fountainview at Gonda was sold to Senior Resource Group and is now called Avocet Playa Vista. It remains committed to Jewish values.

Affinity Groups

There are many other grassroots affinity groups. Some are based on nationality, ethnicity, or military service, or other common characteristics that make up a community. Just recently B.C. Ziegler and Company completed a $72 million refinancing for the Air Force Enlisted Village in Florida.

The Enlisted Village is a community “to house widows of enlisted veterans of the United States Air Force and currently, if space is available, retired enlisted Air Force couples, single Air Force retirees, enlisted retirees from other branches of the armed services, and spouses of enlisted members who died or who were killed on active duty.”

A Golden Business Model

It’s hard to think of any other industry with such a strong grassroots history. As the Wall Street Journal reported recently, the history of grassroots involvement and resident governance is likely to continue. That is something to be proud of. Enterprises that may have drifted a bit from that early democratic ideal may be well-advised to return to their roots.