Over the next 25 years, the amount of people over 65 years old is expected to double. This will require additional nursing staff and nursing homes to handle increased capacity. Walking into most nursing homes, you can’t help but feel how isolated some of the residents feel. Because many of them are dealing with depression and/or loneliness, it can be disheartening for their family.
The Providence Mount St. Vincent retirement home in Seattle, WA, is special. It houses an Intergenerational Learning Center where preschool children learn and play alongside the 400 elderly residents of the nursing home. Its goal is to provide an environment where young and old can learn from each other. In return, it also provides some much-needed happiness to the elderly residents.
Watch The Growing Season trailer…
This documentary entitled ‘The Growing Season’ (formally named ‘Present Perfect’) is being funded on Kickstarter and hope other nursing homes plan similar ventures. Just like The Piano Guys entertaining the elderly with a Charlie Brown medley, nursing home residents still love to socialize. For this reason, even adding a daycare center at nursing homes would be convenient for staff members with children. It would allow elderly residents to spend time with young children and keep their spirits up.
Please share this excellent initiative by the Mount and the Intergenerational Learning Center with your friends and family.
