Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JF&CS) has been awarded $50,000 by the St. Louis City Seniors Fund during its inaugural year of grant funding. The fund, which was established by passage of the Seniors Count Ballot Initiative, will help St. Louis city seniors tackle common concerns, such as fall prevention and economic stability. JF&CS was one of several non-profits on the front line of the fight for Seniors Count and is honored to be chosen for this opportunity.

“This funding provides a chance both to expand the number of senior adults served and to innovate new methods for tackling the problems created by falling, which has such a devastating effect on the ability of seniors to live independently and safely,” noted L. Louis Albert, executive director and CEO of JF&CS.

According to the National Council on Aging, falls result in more than 2.8 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 800,000 hospitalizations and more than 27,000 deaths. JF&CS will work to combat this trend through its new Fall Risk Prevention program. This program, funded by the $50,000 grant, will target 500 St. Louis city seniors. These seniors will be given fall-risk screenings and in-home assessments by a trained JF&CS staffer, who will then work with each of them individually to develop a care plan for fall prevention and assess their progress through home visits and phone calls.

In addition to these individualized services, JF&CS will use its community connections and current programs to link these 500 clients to an array of community resources.