Karen Faith LLC celebrates the ribbon-cutting of West Bloomfield.
Jewish social worker Karen Faith Gordon spent many years supporting older adult residents in metro Detroit before launching her own endeavor, Karen Faith LLC, which celebrated the ribbon-cutting of its West Bloomfield location on June 21.
With a long career in geriatrics, Gordon plans to use the space at 14 Mile and Middlebelt Road to provide mental health care to older people and their families and carers. There’s also an adjacent space it has, Elements, that’s used for group activities and community building.
Gordon, who has a master’s degree in social work at the University of Michigan, began her early career working in the Jewish Federation Apartments, a large living community.
“I was very lucky to have my grandparents still alive into adulthood,” she recalls. “I was walking into the Jewish Federation apartments, and it was like I had 300 other grandparents. It felt like home.”
A longtime Jewish senior in life, Gordon was instrumental in helping older Soviet Jewish immigrants in the 1990s, many of whom sought housing in Tittle’s apartments in Oak Park.
She described working with the older Jewish population of metro Detroit as an “amazing” experience.
“I’ve always loved being among the older residents,” explains Gordon, 55, of West Bloomfield. Even as a child, Gordon’s family often joked that she was an “older soul.”
It was mentality stuck. “If we’re walking around the planet today, we’re getting older over time,” Gordon explains. “One each of us. No one is exempt.”
Caring for the isolated elderly
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the need for mental health care for seniors has become paramount, especially for isolated seniors, Gordon began planting seeds for Karen Faith LLC.
At the time, she was driving to see clients for home visits. “I went out on my own, and I didn’t have an office,” Gordon recalled. “People were calling me from all over, and I got busy pretty quickly.”
The pandemic has only increased the need for services. “I get a lot of calls from people who live out of town who don’t know when they’ll see their parents again,” she says. “The family was relieved that someone could go see their parents at their home and tell them about it.”
Karen Faith Gordon cuts the ribbon at her West Bloomfield business on June 21. (Photo by Melissa Douglas)
By serving as a conduit between families and the elderly, Gordon realized that business was not just an idea, but a necessity and needed in the metro Detroit community and beyond.
Recent data shows that at least one in four older adults suffers from a mental disorder such as depression, anxiety or dementia. This number is expected to double by 2030 as the current population continues to age.
That’s why Gordon chose to offer on-site telehealth and mental health care services to make care more accessible. “I’m starting to realize the value of people wanting to come into an office to talk and have that privacy,” she says of deciding to operate a physical location.
Support the aging journey
Gordon, a father of four, works with all aspects of his aging journey.
People come to her for support with retirement, a family member’s diagnosis or to be a mediator for what can often be difficult family discussions about elderly care needs.
As an example, she says, “Retirement is not easy.” “I get people calling me and saying, ‘This isn’t what I expected, and my life doesn’t look like I thought it would.'”
“Someone may come into contact with someone who has been diagnosed with dementia or some other illness that will be chronic and progressive and affect their lives in ways that are not yet known,” Gordon adds.
The COVID-19 pandemic may be on its way out, but the mental health care needs of older adults continue to grow. Gordon hopes her business can support the local community with all of her aging needs now and in the future.
The addition of the space adjacent to the elements, named “Getting Close to All the Elements of Life Every Day,” was also critical to the business plan.
“I want the space to become a community,” Gordon says of Karen Faith LLC and Elements. “We all have our own journey, and this space is meant to be a container for that.”
As for what drives it, the goal is simple.
“I’m about luxury,” Gordon explains. “I’m all about maximizing people and making use of all the good in their lives, and when the good is less accessible because there are constant challenges, I want to be a safe place for people to show up.”
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