THE HEART PROJECT

DECADES OF ADVOCACY

The Segregation of Ages

In evaluating communities for over thirty years, the unfortunate reality is that society and government have segregated people in all types of ways – race, age, ability, and income levels. This results in poor access to education, amenities, services, reasonable cost housing, healthcare, and workforce development.

Advocate for the Isolated

Jane Rohde, Principal of JSR Associates, Inc., has worked in senior living for 30+ years and has been a volunteer parent for two young women in the foster care system during those same years. One of Jane’s girls, now an adult, has a daughter and a grandson. Jane has seen firsthand just how significant intergenerational relationships can be.

The Isolated Generations

There is a pronounced isolation elders and at-risk youth have in common. Senior living developments too often separate older adults from the daily services of the neighborhood and do little to foster connection with adult children and grandchildren; in short most of the interactions supporting quality of life are removed.

Meanwhile, at-risk youth age out of foster care without mentorship or training in general life skills and usually have a social development age that is much younger than their 18-21-year-old selves. Many have nowhere to go after aging out of the system, creating generations of lost youth.

The Potential of Living Together

Current institutional models only perpetuate such generational isolation, but what if we looked at things differently. What if we could create connections that restored a sense of interdependence and mutual care? Intergenerational and person-centered solutions are not one-size-fits-all, but the potential is too crucial to ignore. This is where Live Together® began.