Book Analysis

This book focuses on the importance of intergenerational connections. We are doing this in many of your volunteer projects and many of you have had experience interacting with older relatives and friends. The goal of the final project is to apply the ideas from the book to the material we have covered in class and plan for future long-term care options. Encore.org (www.encore.org) is an organization founded by Marc Freedman who wrote How to Live Forever. It has articles that build intergenerational projects and articles on the topic. You should review this website and subscribe to the newsletter for current information.

Answer those questions to the best of your ability and make sure to read the chapters!
1. How did the pandemic impact intergenerational connections in general and have we recovered?
2. Are their examples of residential settings in Chicago, the suburbs or other parts of the US where intergenerational housing is available. For example, are there independent living apartments that include units for families with children that interact with the seniors? Are there any senior living complexes near universities where students live on the premises and perhaps provide support to the seniors?
3. What community-based services may be offered that include the opportunity for multiple generations to interact?

Also, Write a Brief Summar Of the Chapters. The book is called how to live forever, if you need additional chapters please reach out!!
Let me know if you need additional materials!!!

ANSWER

Book Analysis

Intergenerational connections can help both the old and the young people feel cared for and valued. According to research, intergenerational programs increase self-esteem and the feeling of well-being of younger and older participants. Intergeneration friendships between the older and the younger generations make the communities stronger. The COVID-19 pandemic had its economic and social impacts that have disrupted life for all groups of people in the communities in different ways. The pandemic impacted intergenerational connections as the pandemic mostly affected the youth and the older generation. Most of the older generation in the workforce lost their jobs and so did the younger generation (Burke, 2020). The younger generation was faced with difficulties such as dealing with paying bills while the older generation dealt with soul-crushing loneliness due to the restriction of social gatherings. The older generation was at a higher risk of getting Covid-19 which led to the restriction of the youth interaction with the older generation.

The intergenerational wedge created during the pandemic is yet to be made smaller. Most older people have not yet gone to work and they are still not ready to interact with the younger generations. Some of the younger generations are not ready to get vaccinated which makes it harder to create a connection between the youth and the older generations (Burke, 2020).  There is a need to create more programs to ensure that the intergenerational relationships that previously existed are revived. The intergenerational connections that were forged before the pandemic crumbled at the onset of the pandemic as the older people were uncomfortable interacting with the younger people because they were at risk of contracting Covid-19. These relationships are yet to be revived and much needs to be done to rebuild these relationships.

Chicago has intergenerational living apartments where the young and the old can live together. Examples of intergenerational housing in Chicago include houses such as the Pat Crowley house. Intergenerational housing is a good way to ensure seniors are in a family-like setting. The setting involves a building where the residents share bathrooms and a living room but have separate bedrooms (Ortiz, 2015). This setting is good for seniors who cannot afford expensive housing and young college students who cannot afford to live alone. This setting prevents loneliness and keeps young adults from becoming homeless. There are senior living apartments in US colleges. The retirement communities encourage young people to volunteer in those homes which helps bridge the gap between the seniors and the youth.

The senior homes within the college environment have access to a wide range of activities just like the college students. They have access to activities such as athletics and sporting events, they have a fitness center where they have cases that helps them to keep fit. They also have performance arts and cultural events (Burke, 2020). Participating in these activities and being around college students is good for the health of the senior citizens and helps them overcome the loneliness that comes with old age. Most of these living arrangements also allow them to enroll in some classes which is a great way to keep them occupied and help them learn something new and expand their horizons.

Apart from offering different generations affordable housing and allowing multiple generations to interact, other community activities can be carried out to allow multiple generations to interact. Some of these activities include community building. These are programs that benefit the community where all members of the community are given the opportunity to interact. Such programs bring multiple generations together and, they help with interaction. A community program will help the different embers of the community of different ages interact. The young people are most relevant due to their skills with technology and the older generation will be available to end the skills they acquired during their time in the war or their skills they acquired in their time, they also always have some wisdom to offer to the younger generation. Other such activities include activities such as community education where all members of the community are allowed. Such programs bring together multiple generations and this helps community interactions and intergenerational connections.

Book Summary

Chapter 4 of the book how to live forever highlights the story of John and his achievements in life and his work. the book highlights the need for people to need other people. According to Gardner his visit to one of Chicago’s public housing projects, he met a single mother in need of support and an older woman who was being crippled by loneliness (Freedman, 2018). If these two had come together they would have firmed a bond of two people and the two generations would have helped each other. The older woman could babysit for the single mother and the children would help the older woman overcome her loneliness. The book highlights the need for the different generations to interact and learn from each other. There is a need for the older generation to form connections with the younger generations and for the younger generation to make connections that will serve them when they grow older.

References

Burke, S. (2020). Stronger together? Intergenerational connection and Covid-19. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults.

Freedman, M. (2018). How to live forever: the enduring power of connecting the generations. PublicAffairs.

Ortiz, V. (2015). Intergenerational houses bring seniors, and 20-somethings together.  https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-multi-generational-house-met-20151129-story.html