Fostering Intergenerational Connections

The Collington nonprofit retirement community in Maryland offers a program in which students get free room and board for participating in activities that entertain senior residents; it is one of many new intergenerational programs designed to get young and old to engage with each other, reports the New York Times . A joint Ohio State University/Generations United survey of 180 such programs indicates that they have strong public support. Benefits include reducing loneliness for older adults and boosting levels of interaction for adults with dementia who engaged with children. Among adult participants, 97 percent said it let them feel happy, interested, loved, younger, and needed. Child participants exhibited higher levels of empathy and a greater ability to rein in their behavior than non-participants. "This is the wave of the future among senior housing providers," says Generations United Executive Director Donna Butts. The report notes shared sites can foster new settings "to confront ageism, break down the barriers of age-segregation, and forge long-lasting and life-changing intergenerational bonds. Intergenerational programs bring purpose to the lives of young and old." In promoting social engagement, the programs offer "one of the pillars of healthy aging," says Dr. Annette Medina-Walpole at the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry. "This is very much in line with what needs to be happening to engage our older adult community."