Monday, January 25, 2016

ReServe's READY Program

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week, we feature intergenerational program ideas that were tried and successful. This series is a tool to highlight various age-optimized programs and practices. The program descriptions are provided by representatives of the programs. Inclusion in this series does not imply Generations United’s endorsement or recommendation, but rather encourages ideas to inspire other programs.

This week’s cool ideas is ReServe's READY program in New York, which helps low-income students apply to college by training and deploying professionals age 55 and up as college mentors.

(Check our archives for parts 1-73.)

The ReServe and AmeriCorps partnership has created more than 100 AmeriCorps ReServist direct-service opportunities in New York City and Miami, Florida.

Experienced and motivated older adults, age 55-plus, can contribute their life and professional skills by committing to long-term, direct-service AmeriCorps assignments.

AmeriCorps ReServists create, improve and expand services that address diverse issues such as youth development, education, adult literacy, individual professional and economic development, and adults who are homebound and isolated.

AmeriCorp READY ReServists help over-burdened college counselors in approximately 70 high-need urban high schools.

They meet with students and their families to familiarize them with their college options, complete financial aid and college applications, and help them evaluate their financial aid packages.

College mentors reach over 2500 students in over 50 schools.

Got something cool you tried that was successful? Why not tweet your cool intergenerational ideas to #cooligideas? You can also post them to our Intergenerational Connections Facebook Group. We want to highlight innovative age-optimized programs and practices through our blog, social media and weekly e-newsletter! Share the inspiration.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Germantown Friends School Mentoring Program

PHOTO: Home Room
EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week, we feature intergenerational program ideas that were tried and successful. This series is a tool to highlight various age-optimized programs and practices. The program descriptions are provided by representatives of the programs. Inclusion in this series does not imply Generations United’s endorsement or recommendation, but rather encourages ideas to inspire other programs.

This week’s cool ideas is Germantown Friends School Mentoring Program, a middle school mentoring program based in Philadelphia run by Center in the Park (CIP), an aging support nonprofit.

(Check our archives for parts 1-72.)

Sharing is the keynote of this mentoring program with 6th grade students.

Over an eight-month time period, students and members of CIP meet monthly and become partners through the exchange of personal experiences, social history, family folklore, origins, goals, and ambitions.

Got something cool you tried that was successful? Why not tweet your cool intergenerational ideas to #cooligideas? You can also post them to our Intergenerational Connections Facebook Group. We want to highlight innovative age-optimized programs and practices through our blog, social media and weekly e-newsletter! Share the inspiration.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

More Than a House: A Community for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

This story first appeared in our State of Grandfamilies in America: 2015 report.

In the Bronx borough of New York City, an apartment building rises above the streets, safely housing grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, giving all of them – young and old – a supportive community where they can nurture a positive family future.

The Grandparent Family Apartments building – a joint venture of PSS and the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing – has pioneered a successful model that draws attention from around the world.

“Primarily, these are situations where the grandparents have really stepped up and taken on an enormous responsibility,” said PSS Executive Director Rimas J. Jasin. “They don’t have the income or, often, the physical resources. But, family is important to them, and they’ve made the commitment to do what they can.”

The 50-unit building opened in 2005, after years of planning and intermediary measures to help the suddenly increasing number of lower-income grandparents who took custody of their grandchildren during the crack cocaine and AIDS epidemic of the 1990s. Whether in senior-only housing or in homes that became too small overnight, these grandparents needed to move.

Jasin said everyone involved understood that the adults and the children needed shelter and much more.

“That’s why we built more than an apartment. We made sure, through the PSS Kinship Program, that there is a supportive environment with social services, skill building workshops, programming for the kids, counseling, intergenerational activities, etc.”

“That’s the one big difference between our building and other similar buildings: It’s a real community, and we have staff on site who foster that value,” Jasin said. Our families know they’re part of something special, and they’re proud of that.

Plus, we’ve grown together over the last 10 years, learning from each other, so there is that dynamic of community and an expectation for people to be supporting members of that community.”

About 60 grandparents and 100 grandchildren live in the Grandparent Family Apartments. One measure of success is that last year, more than 90 percent of the children progressed to their next grade in school.

Jasin noted, “Putting into words why this place is great is hard. We’re able to help them navigate systems and situations, the grandparents support one another and, in the end, these kids have a much better chance than they would have on their own.”

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Generations United’s 2016 State Of The Union Statement

Last night President Obama’s message was clear: “We the People…Our Constitution begins with those three simple words,” he explained, “words we’ve come to recognize mean all the people, not just some; words that insist we rise and fall together.” 

Generations United agrees. This inclusive preamble speaks to how the lives of Americans - young, old and in between- are inextricably linked. And together, he explained we face “a time of extraordinary change that’s reshaping the way we live, the way we work, our planet and our place in the world.”  At the heart of the change are our dual changing demographics.  In our signature report Out of Many One: Uniting the Changing Faces of America, Generations United explains- “Americans are living longer and healthier lives. We are more racially and ethnically diverse.  There is a growing generation gap. Today more than half of Americans under the age of five are people of color compared to less than one in five Americans over 65.” 

The president said that as a nation we should come together to embrace the change, rather than face it with fear.  At Generations United we see an incredible opportunity to use innovative approaches to stimulate cooperation and collaboration among generations, evoking the vibrancy, energy and sheer productivity that result when people of all ages come together. We believe that we can only be successful in the face of our complex future if generational diversity is regarded as a national asset and fully leveraged.

The president noted “Progress is not inevitable. It is the result of choices we make together. And we face such choices right now. Will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a nation, and turning against each other as a people? Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together?”  Because we are stronger together.

Three areas the president touched on stand out as opportunities for intergenerational solutions: Employment and Economic Security, Education, and Civic Engagement.

Employment and Economic Security:
The president highlighted how economic trends have squeezed workers even when the economy is growing. It’s made it harder for hardworking families to pull themselves out of poverty, harder for young people to start on their careers and tougher for workers to retire when they want to. Generations United’s highlighted key recommendations to address employment challenges and opportunities facing our nation’s younger and older people in Out of Many, One.

President Obama also affirmed the critical role of Social Security and Medicare in income security.  These programs should be strengthened, not weakened.  Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who sat behind the president as he spoke, experienced the value of Social Security first hand as a young child. Read his story and learn about the value of social security for all generations in our publication Social Security: What’s at Stake for Children, Youth, and Grandfamilies.

Education
The president highlighted the connection between opportunity and education to ensure “every American has…the training needed to land a good-paying job.” He called for Pre-K for all and the importance of making college affordable for every American.  For many years, Generations United’s Seniors4Kids program has advocated for early investments in children, Pre-K in particular because of the impact on all generations. Learn more about Seniors4Kids here.

Civic Engagement
The president explained that “our collective future depends on your willingness to uphold your obligations as a citizen. To vote. To speak out. To stand up for others especially the weak, especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us.”

He highlighted how that spirit of engagement and interconnectedness is evident across the ages. “I see it in the Dreamer who stays up late to finish her science project, and the teacher who comes in early because he knows she might someday cure a disease….. I see it in the elderly woman who will wait in line to cast her vote as long as she has to; the new citizen who casts his for the first time; the volunteers at the polls who believe every vote should count, because each of them in different ways know how much that precious right is worth.”

Intergenerational strategies are key to civic engagement and passing the value on from generation to generation. In a study with MetLife Mature Market Institute, Generations United found 73% of grandparents said voting is a value they are currently or are interested in passing down and nearly 50% are passing down the value of volunteering and civic engagement. Read more in Grandparents Investing in Grandchildren and find strategies in Out of Many, One.


In closing the president proclaimed “I stand here, as confident as ever, that the State of our Union is strong.” And it is, and will continue to be, if we understand our changing race and age demographics are our country’s greatest assets. We are stronger together.