By Steve Gamel
The country was in the depths of the Great Depression, but Lena Holston Pope refused to let that stop her.
As the story goes, she and a group of women in her Sunday school class in Fort Worth knew of several neglected and homeless children who had nowhere to go. The solution seemed simple: step up, give them a roof over their heads, and show them love.
They expected a few. More than two dozen arrived that first day.
That effort became the Lena Pope Home. Today, the organization serves approximately 6,000 children and families each year across North Texas.
Nearly a century after its founding, Lena Pope is expanding its reach in southern Denton County, bringing critical services for children and families closer to home in Flower Mound.
“What started as one person seeing a need has become a much broader mission,” said Katye LaNier, Lena Pope’s chief marketing officer. “We’re here to support families across the lifespan, and our presence in Flower Mound is a big part of that.”
Lena Pope’s Flower Mound/Argyle-area campus, located off of Hwy 377, provides counseling and behavioral health services to families throughout southern Denton County. The site allows the organization to meet families where they are — both geographically and financially.
Through its counseling programs, Lena Pope delivers more than 20,000 therapy sessions annually, addressing issues such as anxiety, depression, trauma, parenting challenges and behavioral concerns.
The organization has evolved significantly over the decades. Originally focused on orphan care, Lena Pope expanded into foster care and adoption services by the 1970s. In the following decades, it added therapeutic foster care and began partnering with school districts to support at-risk students through education and behavioral programs.
Today, Lena Pope offers a wide range of services, including early childhood education, family counseling and intervention programs designed to strengthen children and families.
Accessibility remains a cornerstone of the organization’s work in Flower Mound and beyond. Lena Pope accepts most insurance plans, including Medicaid and CHIP, and offers low-cost, flexible payment options. No one is turned away based on ability to pay.
Services are provided by licensed clinicians trained in evidence-based practices, with both in-person and virtual appointments available. Specialized care includes play therapy for younger children and trauma-informed treatments such as EMDR. Spanish-speaking therapists are also available.
“We want to make sure families in Flower Mound and across Denton County know help is close by,” LaNier said. “Life can be difficult, but no one should have to face those challenges alone.”
That philosophy reflects the legacy of Lena Pope, whose vision was rooted in compassion and persistence. Her work, born from a desire to help children in need, has grown into a comprehensive support system for families across the region.
Now, with an expanding footprint in Flower Mound, that legacy continues to evolve — offering hope, healing and support to the community she might never have imagined, but would undoubtedly recognize.
To learn more or find ways to support the organization, visit lenapope.org.
