From the President: Value of Partnerships: New life for Leland House
Over the years, 2Life has fostered many meaningful partnerships that help our organization — and our residents — thrive. As we navigate challenging economic times, partnerships have become an increasingly important part of realizing our mission. We collaborate with health care providers, social service organizations, and aging services access points to maximize our ability to deliver crucial programs that increase residents’ quality of life. We’ve created great partnerships with Jewish communal organizations such as Congregation Kehillath Israel where Brown Family House shares a campus, and the JCC which shares a campus with Coleman House and where soon we’ll add Opus Newton. We partner with the two large Jewish social service agencies — Jewish Family & Children’s Service and Jewish Family Services of Metrowest — to offer holiday celebrations, lifelong learning opportunities, health education, and patient navigators. And we have dynamic partnerships with mission-aligned real estate developers such as David Solimine in Lynn and Jerry Rappaport of Lena New Boston in Mattapan, which help us expand 2Life’s footprint to new underserved communities.
We’re now embarking on a new partnership in Waltham that bridges religious traditions and services. Construction is poised to begin on a fabulous new affordable housing development on the site of a former rest home owned and operated for decades by Leland House. The partnership behind the project emerged from a serendipitous connection with Deaconess Abundant Life Communities, a Methodist organization dedicated to serving elders well.
This partnership began at a national conference, where I spoke about the urgency of providing aging in community for all older adults. The CEO of Deaconess was in attendance and was struck by the compatibility of our missions and world view. We talked at the airport while waiting for our flight back to Boston and agreed that, working together, we could accomplish what neither could alone. A few years prior, Deaconess had purchased Leland Home, hoping to make that beautiful rest home function economically. Despite amazing efforts, it was a losing battle — rest homes, quite honestly, are an outdated model. While Deaconess and the very dedicated Leland board members had worked tirelessly to maintain their high standards in the face of insufficient reimbursements, the home couldn’t break even.
Enter COVID-19. Yikes! Rest homes are configured more like nursing homes than housing, with rooms that have no kitchens or private bathrooms. The lack of private spaces made the spread of COVID-19 unavoidable and, ultimately, Leland Home residents who survived the pandemic were relocated. Through careful planning and a shared mission with Deaconess, 2Life purchased the Leland Home property, which will be co-branded with Leland House, a trusted fixture in the Waltham community. We will be building 68 fabulous, adaptable apartments that will be affordable for older adults with very low income and will offer 2Life’s signature aging in community programs and services.
One of my favorite career moments was when I attended a Deaconess board meeting to explain our strategy, and their minister offered a prayer she had written to bless our collaboration. I quickly offered a brief dvar torah to complement the interdenominational blessings. This exciting partnership across religious groups and service models will allow us to offer the Waltham community a modern, supportive campus adjacent to their fantastic senior center — and we’ll partner there to offer even more programs to the older adults in the community. The seeds of excellence sown by Leland, Deaconess and 2Life — bolstered by prayer and the dedication of all involved — are certain to make the new Leland House a success.
