“All Americans have a right to participate fully in our community life. But right now, our society starts to exclude us as we age. Americans are living longer, but our systems and structures haven’t been adjusted so that older people can stay involved. Instead, our workplace policies, our transportation systems, and other features of everyday life have the effect of isolating and marginalizing older adults. To build a more just, more inclusive society, we need to take steps to prevent social isolation of any group, including older people” (Frameworks Institute Embracing the Dynamic Training, 2019).
It is important to include outreach to people who are at risk of social isolation, particularly those of us who are older. This includes reaching out to older adults on how we can serve each other better. One step towards achieving justice and respect for older adults is to recognize how implicit bias affects the way we think about aging. News and media display negative messages about older adults being frail or vulnerable. As a result, our brains are wired to create judgments about people based on their age. The more aware of our biases we are, the less likely we are to make snap judgments about people and will treat people with more respect. Depicting older adults without stereotypes in the media and including older adults in community “family” activities increases social inclusion. Accommodating age-specific needs and preferences in community activities and events welcomes a wide variety of ages. Schools have an important role to play by providing opportunities to learn about aging and including older people in school activities. For example, we can create programs that bring together older people and preschool children in community centers. These intergenerational community programs allow older people to engage and contribute to our communities. Respect is increased when older people are recognized for past and present contributions to our communities. (Frameworks Institute, 2017)
**In order to maximize your communication and productivity with your audience, please reference the best practices created by The Frameworks Institute on the Characteristics main page.
Data to inform the discussion around this characteristic.
- Proportion of older adults who live alone (potential data source: US Census Bureau; American Community Survey)
- Presence of places of worship, community centers, social organizations, libraries, museums, colleges/universities (potential data source: City/Town Planning Department)
Activities to help contextualize this characteristic.
- Picture activity: Show pictures of older adults and have participants comment on what they see. (This could include the line drawing that can depict a younger woman and an older woman depending on how one looks at the picture, to spark a discussion on implicit bias and assumptions)
- Group Discussion: Utilize pieces from this quiz about aging from the University of Missouri-Kansas City for groups to explore their preconceptions about aging.
- Individual activity: ask participants to take an implicit bias test to help individuals uncover biases that they may not be aware of. Enter the website and select the button for age.
- Intergenerational activity: Make a quiz using the latest social media slang for an icebreaker. (Most updated terms can be found at links such as: http://slangit.com/terms/social_media or http://slangdefinition.com/ )
Success Stories from local communities.
- Monthly Game night at Generations in Plymouth: Plymouth Intergenerational Center-Middle schoolers and older adults play board games and participate in “pickle ball” tournaments to facilitate communication and appreciation among the generations.
- Grandparents University (GPU) is an intergenerational learning experience for children aged seven to 14 who are accompanied by a grandparent(s) or adult adult(s) relative who is not a parent. GPU is held on the UW-Madison campus every summer.
- RSVP Program in local school districts
Resources and other ideas for next steps.
- The Healthy Aging in Action report has numerous suggestions for supporting healthy aging in our communities.
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