Family Eldercare
Family Eldercare was founded in 1982 by two women with a ground breaking idea: develop resources and training for families caring for their aging loved ones. Jackie Lelong and Tina Dubin were experts in the field of aging and they took action to fill an unmet need. Over the last 40 years, the legacy of our founders lives on in the innovative programs we create to meet the evolving needs of our community.
1982
Family Eldercare was founded by Jackie Lelong and Tina Dubin to provide resources and training materials for family caregivers.
1986
Initially established for persons who needed help managing their social security benefits. Because most couldn’t afford to live solely off social security, we expanded our scope by connecting persons to other available resources. Today, we are the only Professional Fiduciary Service for veterans and the only Benefits Enrollment Center in Central Texas. All services aim to promote independent living and stability, including among persons formerly experiencing homelessness. Read about our programs.
1988
Before there was the 211 hotline, there was Family Eldercare. We managed the public information and referral hotline designed to assist persons age 60+ find resources. We managed the hotline and produced a resource book for an 11-county area that covered health, wellness, fraud prevention, and crisis response to name a few. We also provided individual consultations on a limited basis. Our experience inspired what would become our Summer Fan Drive, in-home care, and counseling programs.
1990
Family Eldercare officially launched the Summer Fan Drive as a community-wide initiative that provides life-saving fans to persons without AC and at risk for heat-related illness. In our first year, we distributed 20 fans. Today, we distribute more than 7,000 fans a year, impacting 10,000 lives across 13 counties. The Summer Fan Drive is possible because of community support and partnerships with local media, businesses, city agencies, and volunteers. Learn more about the Summer Fan Drive.
1995
Family Eldercare began offering professional caregiving services to support aging at home. Services included light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders, medical transportation, and caregiving services.
1997
Family Eldercare opened the Elder Shelter in collaboration with a local housing developer to provide emergency housing for older adults with little to no income. Residents were often fleeing abusive or unsafe situations or were homeless. Once in the shelter, we connected them to services and resources in the community. The shelter grew to 17 apartment units but was closed after the property owner was unable to continue the partnership. Our experience led to a more sustainable model that would become Lyons Gardens.
2004
After three years of raising capital and planning, Family Eldercare opened the Lyons Gardens Senior Community. Lyons Gardens is a 54-unit supportive housing development for low-income residents in East Austin. It is recognized as a national model of affordable housing because of the supportive services we offer onsite. We support healthy aging by linking residents to services that promote health, wellness, financial stability, and community connection. Learn more about Lyons Gardens.
2006
Recognizing that many of our clients were alone during the holidays, Family Eldercare began our Holiday Giving Drive to bring holiday cheer to many of our resilient and inspiring clients. Each year, our Holiday Giving Drive serves 350-500 clients. Learn more about our annual Holiday Giving Drive.
2010
Family Eldercare launched AGLSS to provide open and accepting social services, training, resource guides, and advocacy to meet the unique needs of the LGBTQIA2+ older adult community receiving care attendant services.
2011
We established the Bettie Naylor Fund to allow donors to designate their financial support toward AGLSS services, training, and expansion into other program areas. Learn more about the Bettie Naylor Fund.
2018
Family Eldercare was awarded funding from the Moody Foundation to pilot a “Rapid Re-Housing for Older Adults” project. Our successful outcomes soon inspired the City of Austin to invest in this work, formalizing it into a strong program with dozens of staff. Since then, hundreds of case-managed households have already transitioned from homelessness into housing.
2019
Family Eldercare began a formal partnership with ETF to establish the first Central Texas affiliate of SAGE—a national organization dedicated to advocacy and services for older adults in the queer community.
2020
Family Eldercare began a partnership with Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ Community First! Village. Austinites who have experienced homelessness receive housing through Mobile Loaves & Fishes as well as service coordination and case management through Family Eldercare.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit many of our clients particularly hard, especially those already at risk for financial and housing instability and social isolation. In 2020, after 25 years, we made the difficult and necessary decision to transition out of in-home care and shifted our focus to serving as advocates for persons who need this service and those who provide it. Read why we did this.
Family Eldercare participated in multiple government programs designed to help people who had been financially affected by COVID-19. We successfully distributed millions of dollars in relief funding to Central Texans of all ages, provided case management to households at greater risk of housing instability, and expanded our phone-based Lifetime Connections Without Walls program to combat social isolation. Learn more about Lifetime Connections Without Walls.
2021
Winter Storm Uri shut down power to many in the State of Texas for several days, affecting millions, while our community was still in lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing that many of our clients would have significant barriers to accessing disaster relief services, Family Eldercare quickly mobilized staff and volunteers to respond with clean water, food, and financial assistance to impacted Central Texans.
2022
Family Eldercare’s Austin Gay & Lesbian Senior Services (AGLSS) and the Austin LGBTQIA2+ Elder Task Force (ETF) merged to form Rainbow Connections ATX. Rainbow Connections ATX is the result of years of advocacy and partnerships and was made possible through funding from St. David’s Foundation and the Moody Foundation. Rainbow Connections ATX is a platform that advocates for the queer community, provide resources, creates an LGBTQ+ housing guide, and many Intergenerational events for the LGBTQ+ community. Learn more about Rainbow Connections ATX.
