GoldenYears and the Miracle Grant: How Sidney Enss and Tennessee Lawmakers Karen Camper, London Lamar, and Joe Towns Jr. Helped Safeguard Dignity and Helped Champion the Well-Being of Shelby County’s Seniors

Shelby County Observer – Community Affairs Staff on November 13, 2025 | Memphis, Tennessee

The Miracle on the Asphalt

At the Golden Years Adult Day Care in southeast Memphis, the walk from the parking lot to the front door can feel deceptively short—just thirty or so steps across a sloping patch of asphalt. But for many of the seniors who attend the program, each step is a test of balance, vision, and the unpredictable force of gravity that comes with aging.

On more than one occasion, that journey has ended in a fall. A misplaced foot, a sudden wobble, one small slip on the uneven pavement, and someone’s mother, someone’s grandfather, someone’s cherished loved one is on the ground before anyone can reach them. 911 has been called several times due to such incidents.

It was this reality—not a political initiative, not a budget projection—that pushed Golden Years to pursue Tennessee’s Senior Center Grant.

What they didn’t expect was how much help they would need… or how much help they would receive.

A Coalition of Quiet Champions

The $50,000 Senior Center Grant authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly and administered through the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging and overseen by Sidney Enss, Director of Volunteer Engagement & Senior Center Liaison—draws over 140 of applicants every year. Guided by Sidney Enns, a leader determined to ensure that every senior center in Tennessee gets a fair slice of the pie, while most funding programs eliminate, reduce, and disqualify, Enns works to include—everyone.

Also, behind the scenes, three political figures lent their names and influence:

State Representative Karen Camper, State Senator London Lamar, and State Representative Joe Towns Jr.. Each wrote letters of support, emphasizing the program’s critical role in Shelby County’s fragile senior-care landscape.

But inside Golden Years, the staff insists the credit also belongs to someone they call an angel in disguise.

“Sidney Enss deserves a tremendous amount of credit,” said Director Monique Wade, who has steered countless seniors through crises but found the grant process bewildering. “She is an angel in disguise for every senior center and senior citizen in every county, in every city, in every zip code of Tennessee. Without her guidance, there’s no way we could have been a first-time recipient. She held our hand through the process.”

For a program that survived on grit and prayer, the grant felt unimaginable.

“A Blessing in Disguise”

When adult daycare participant Sharon Macklin-Butts heard the news she responded, “This is a blessing in disguise—a much-needed blessing,” she whispered, almost as if saying it too loudly might make it disappear.

Sharon has watched more than one friend stumble in that parking lot. She’s picked them up herself. “I’m not strong enough to keep doing that,” she said. “We needed this. We really, really needed this.”

The Miracle Bid

The grant allocated $30,000 for a desperately needed parking lot overhaul.

Three companies submitted bids. Two came in at $32,000—just out of reach.

Then came the last one: $30,000 on the dot.

“It was a sign that this was ordained,” said Natalee Peart Simpson, an officer with the Golden Years Adult Daycare.. “How often does a contractor fit your budget perfectly? It was miraculous.”

For a center accustomed to stretching pennies into meals and prayers into programming, the precision felt divine.

Healing Beyond Asphalt

The rest of the grant—another $20,000—will support advertisement, meals, and an 18-month chronic disease management workshop for seniors facing diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, COPD, and other long-term conditions.

The need is staggering:

More than 125,000 seniors in Shelby County live with at least one chronic disease.

Golden Years wants to become a refuge, not only for safety but for stability. A place where seniors can learn how to manage their health, ask hard questions, and find companionship in the process.

“It’s more than a center,” said Wade. “It’s a lifeline.”

A New Beginning, Not an Ending

The grant officially started on November 1, 2025, the new parking lot was completed on November 12, 2025. Where the potholes and cracked asphalt once ruled, seniors now walk on level ground.

And somewhere in Nashville, in a modest office in the Tennessee Department of Human Services, Sidney Enss will begin guiding the next center through the maze, unaware that in Memphis, she has already been elevated to near-saint status.