Many people know Trista Graves Brown of Joliet for her grassroots advocacy work.

Brown is the founder of Speak Up, a community-based, grassroots group that organizes rallies and walks to encourage voting and takes a stand against gun violence.

She also submitted the application to the city of Joliet to designate part of Wallace Street in honor of the late Rev. Larry Ellis, a minister at St. Mark C.M.E. Church, located on the south end of Joliet, where Ellis lived his entire life.

But Brown also has a heart for low-income seniors and serves the residents of Joshua Arms Senior Residences in Joliet whenever she can.

In February, Brown emceed a talent show at Joshua Arms and she’s hoping to start a fitness program.

And last year, Brown used her modeling and fashion talents to organize a fashion show for the residents, with 13 residents as models.

Brown spent eight weeks teaching posing, runway walking – although some had wheelchairs and walkers – and how to exude joy, confidence, self-love and “feel beautiful about themselves,” she said.

In fact, Brown previously said she was “clumsy and dyslexic” until someone helped her develop her own confidence.

Many of Brown’s Joshua Arms models had little self-esteem – until they saw themselves with styled hair and makeup, Brown said.

“The most rewarding experience and joy of my life was being at that assisted living,” she said. “We built relationships; we became like a little family.”

Brown said she used her own money to pay for all the clothing for the Joshua Arms models because she was unable to obtain funding.

“And what did [the residents] bring to the table? They came with energy,” she said. “They had more energy than me.”

Glenda McCullum, Joshua Arms marketing coordinator, said she donated the hats and was happy to help the residents because the modeling “has done so much for their self-esteem.”

“It’s brought such a light and radiance to the ladies,” McCullum said. “They will not be the same.”

Lisa Parham, activities director at Joshua Arms, had said she’s wanted to “put something like this together for my residents” for the past five years.

“Thank God for Trista,” Parham said in 2025. “Once she came in here, her outgoing personality motivated my people to want to do it. It got them involved and made them feel really special and good about themselves.”

Brown, 66, a senior facing multiple health challenges, refuses to let feeling unwell stand in the way of her service.

“How am I able to serve? I bring a spirit of the Lord, the way Jesus gave to us,” she said. “The spirit of love is so powerful. Love conquers … and all those people in the room? They told me they knew they were loved.”