Moody Grant Recipient: The Senior Source

Senior Source provides Dallas seniors and their families with programs, tools, and resources to support their emotional and financial well-being.

Can you share a brief history of Senior Source and its role in supporting seniors?

The E.D. Farmer Foundation for the Aged and Infirm was established in 1948 to provide assistance to the elderly of Texas. The Senior Citizens Foundation of Dallas supplanted the Foundation in 1961 and, over the next 60 years, added services for volunteer opportunities, nursing home resources, guardianship, financial assistance and protection, fraud and scam prevention, employment assistance, and support for caregivers in Dallas and Collin Counties. In 2014, we launched a first-of-its-kind Elder Financial Safety Center to provide financial empowerment to older adults. In 2024-2025 fiscal year, we served 25,000 clients, mobilized 3,000 volunteers, and educated 22,000 individuals on aging-related issues.

 

What resources do you offer?

As the only agency solely focused on wrap-around services for older adults in Dallas, we are committed to protecting older adults’ rights, offering them opportunities to thrive, and advocating for their care with the following programs:

• Elder Financial Safety Center – protecting seniors from financial exploitation and providing education and tools to help them age with dignity and financial security
• Caregiver Support Program – equipping family caregivers with resources, support and guidance
• Guardianship – ensuring vulnerable adults receive trusted decision-making
• Long-term Care Ombudsman Program – advocating for quality care in nursing homes
• Foster Grandparents Program – giving older adults a sense of purpose by supporting special needs children
• Senior Companions Program – reducing isolation for clients and volunteers while providing respite for family caregivers
• RSVP – connecting older volunteers to meaningful community service opportunities

Tell us more about your work in supporting the emotional wellbeing of seniors and their caregivers

According to the Dallas Senior Affairs Commission’s 2025 Annual Report, the population of individuals aged 65 and older in our city is currently growing seven times faster than any other age group. As a result, the number of family caregivers is increasing proportionally.

The family caregivers we serve range in age from their early 40s through their 80s, with the average age of a CSP client being 68. They are the spouses, adult children, adult grandchildren, neighbors and friends of Dallas County seniors. They span the socio-economic range and are represented by every race and ethnicity. However, our program’s caregivers are predominantly women, approximately 61% are female.

Without reliable breaks and time to take care of themselves, many caregivers experience chronic stress, physical exhaustion, social isolation, and declining mental health. Many delay their own medical care or risk job instability because they cannot leave their loved one unattended. Over time, this strain increases the likelihood of caregiver burnout, which can threaten the ability to keep older adults safely at home.

The Senior Source’s Caregiver Support Program (CSP) is firmly grounded in evidence-based, best practices to ensure high quality support for family caregivers. Our approach is informed by extensive research and proven methodologies in the field of caregiving and elder care. We measure caregiver confidence and 85% of our caregivers report increased confidence in their caregiving role.

 

Tell us more about your relationship with the Moody Foundation and the recent grant to the Elder Financial Safety Center- preventing financial fraud from scams.

The Senior Source’s Elder Financial Safety Center (EFSC) has been tackling the financial instability and crimes against adults 50+ in Dallas since 2014. During its first 10 years, the Center served over 61,000 older adults and leads the nation in providing protection for them. The majority of our clients are people of color who live in marginalized, underserved neighborhoods. Many are one health or financial crisis away from losing their independence. We offer protection through financial tools focused on debt management, expense reduction, employment assistance, benefits enrollment, and prevention education and recovery support from frauds or scams.

Additionally, increases in life expectancy and economic realities have revealed a growing population of adults aged 55–64, primarily women, who, despite having modest savings and 401(k)s, do not have enough to live comfortably for 20-30 years into retirement. These individuals often fall through the cracks: they do not qualify for public assistance, yet are not wealthy enough to afford private financial planning.

With the savings shock facing this demographic who will soon retire, the EFSC is launching a 10-year expansion plan – Securing Our Savings (SOS).  SOS’s goal is to intervene early by equipping aging adults with the knowledge and support they need to maintain financial stability and dignity throughout retirement.

 

Recent accomplishments you want to highlight?

 For more than six decades, The Senior Source has been a trusted leader in protecting the rights, dignity, and financial security of older adults in North Texas.

The agency is widely recognized for its subject matter expertise in elder financial issues. That’s why CBS Texas called EFSC Director Julie Krawczyk, for their story in January to explain how seniors are struggling with Social Security due to federal job cuts. It is also why Financial Case Manager, Andrea Marshall, is cited as an expert in the recent Dallas Morning News article, “More D-FW Senior Citizens are living in poverty than a decade ago.”  The Senior Source has become a trusted source on issues facing older adults for partners, city leaders and the media.

Our staff also provides consultation and education to first responders, medical professionals, and social workers, equipping them to identify red flags, respond appropriately, and connect older adults to protective resources. To make this information instantly available to all, we created the “Shield our Seniors” mobile app which provides instant access to information, education, and training to anyone who has frontline responsibility for older adults. It is free and available for download on the App Store and Google Play.

The Elder Financial Safety Center was honored in 2023 as DCEO’s Best Performing Team award and again in 2025 as the Best Corporate Partnership with TXU Energy for our Beat the Heat program.

 

Upcoming events or key milestones we should highlight?

Jub Jam is an annual Texas country music concert and charity auction supporting The Senior Source, hosted by George “Jub Jub” Dunham of Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 AM The Ticket. The event features performances from notable Texas musicians and raises funds for our programs and services. Since its inception, Jub Jam has raised $1.4 million for the agency and our next concert will be Friday, May 29^th at the Longhorn Ballroom. Stay tuned for the headline performer which will be announced soon!