Intergenerational Housing–A Cool Idea From Oregon
One of the things (among the many things) I like to post about is the concept of age-friendly communities that allow a person to age in place. Governing ran an article last month, showcasing a cool project in Oregon that provides intergenerational housing. Young and Old Find Common Ground in Oregon Housing Community explains about Bridge Meadows where elders and foster children reside in the same housing complex, where the units are provided for free to the foster parents. “Bridge Meadows, a 36-unit apartment complex in [Portland] … mixes incomes, generations and skill sets in a way that enlivens and enriches the lives of young and old alike.” Twenty-seven of the units are for lower-income elders with the rest for those who will be foster parents (or even legal guardians) for at least 3 children within 5 years. Not only do the elders get a break on the housing costs they get to be involved!
[E]lders volunteer their time to work with the kids in the complex. For at least 100 hours per quarter, they tutor, cook, babysit, participate in outdoor activities and so forth. The complex also offers a computer room, library, public courtyard and community garden to help foster connections.
As far as the kids, the program has had a pretty significant impact. Of the “29 children … 24 were formerly in foster care. Of those 24, just over half are either adopted or in legal guardianship and the rest are on their way to adoption or legal guardianship. In other words, they’re all now part of functional families, in permanency or on their way.”
The head of Bridge Meadows is pretty enthused about this model’s ability to be duplicated, noting that it serves as a solution for 2 serious problems our society is facing, (1) “how to civically attend to our rapidly aging population and” (2) “how to place all the troubled kids peppering children and family services systems in the country.”
The author has some concerns about effective replication but still considers this program jan important addition to the spectrum of strategies. It is a nifty idea! More information about the project, as well as photos, are available on their website.